Chey Tae-won's AI drive leads SK Broadband to split off its business ... 300 billion won flowing into 'this business' [Disclosure Record]

[Financial News] SK Telecom will spin off its subsidiary SK Broadband through a physical division, separating its data center business into a new company and raising 300 billion won in funding. The move shows SK Group, which has positioned artificial intelligence (AI) as a future growth engine, accelerating the expansion of its AI data center (AIDC) business, which requires massive investment.
According to the securities industry on the 29th, SK Broadband will keep its existing wired, media and enterprise businesses in the surviving company, while separating its data center and submarine cable operations into a new company, SK Horizon. The split ratio is 0.84 to 0.16, and the effective date is Feb. 1, 2027. The structure is designed to carve out growth businesses that require large-scale investment into a separate entity.
At the same time, it will seek outside funding. SK Telecom plans to sell a 37% stake in SK Horizon to KKR and the IMM Consortium for 188 billion won, and then issue 120 billion won worth of new shares in stages after the company is established. The total investment raised through the stake sale and new share issuance will reach 308 billion won.
Once the deal is completed, SK Horizon's ownership will be restructured to 51% for SK Telecom, 29% for KKR and 20% for the IMM Consortium. SK Telecom plans to retain control while channeling the funds into expanding its data center business. The industry estimates SK Horizon's initial corporate value at about 5 trillion won and expects its data center capacity, currently 137MW, to expand to 318MW. In 2027, it also plans to begin operating a 100MW data center in Ulsan used by Amazon.
SK Telecom's AIDC strategy is aimed at an even larger scale over the long term. SK Hyper, established in July, is responsible for securing land, power and customers. The company plans to build 5GW in stages starting in 2029 and add another 10GW after 2035, expanding the business to a total of 15GW.
Shin Eun-jeong, a researcher at DB Securities, said, "This physical division has created a smoother structure for attracting investment and using funds related to the AIDC business." She added, "By signing the stake sale agreement at the same time, the company has laid the groundwork for attracting large-scale capital for future mega projects."
[email protected] Choi Doo-sun Reporter