SK Inc. Drops SK ecoplant IPO Plan, Seeks to Make It a Wholly Owned Subsidiary

[Financial News] SK Inc., the holding company of SK Group, is pursuing a plan to make SK ecoplant a wholly owned subsidiary instead of taking it public. The plan is to acquire minority shareholders’ stakes through a tender offer and raise its ownership to 100%, easing concerns over a dual listing and simplifying the governance structure. The company aims to strengthen the competitiveness of SK ecoplant’s business, which it has refocused on semiconductor and AI infrastructure, and channel that into enhancing shareholder value at SK Inc.
SK Inc. said it held a board meeting on the 4th and resolved to pursue a tender offer for SK ecoplant shares. The company said, “This tender offer is a measure to complete the realignment of SK ecoplant’s business portfolio and the restructuring of its ownership structure, which we have pursued over the past three years.”
After refocusing SK ecoplant’s business structure on semiconductor and AI infrastructure, SK Inc. invested about KRW 400 billion in April to acquire shares held by financial investors (FIs), raising its stake to about 74% on a voting-rights basis (71.2% based on the number of shares issued). SK Inc. plans to complete the business realignment and ownership restructuring through this tender offer.
The tender offer price is KRW 88,000 per share. That is about 53% higher than the average share price of roughly KRW 57,500 over the past month for SK ecoplant shares traded on the over-the-counter stock market (K-OTC). An external accounting firm set the offer price after considering the company’s asset value, future earnings potential and other factors.
An SK Inc. spokesperson explained, “The aim is to give minority shareholders an opportunity to recover their investments through a tender offer that includes a premium over the over-the-counter market price, while easing concerns about a dual listing of SK ecoplant and building confidence in the capital market.”
The tender offer will run from the 5th through the 24th, and payment will be made in cash. About 16.43 million shares are eligible for purchase, equivalent to roughly 25% of SK ecoplant’s total shares outstanding. NH Investment & Securities is managing the offer. After the tender offer, SK Inc. plans to secure 100% of SK ecoplant through procedures such as a cash-settled comprehensive share exchange.
Since 2024, SK ecoplant has been reshaping its business, previously centered on construction and the environment, to focus on semiconductor and AI infrastructure. In 2024, it brought industrial gas company SK materials airplus and semiconductor module company Essencore into its fold as subsidiaries. Last year, it added four more semiconductor materials companies: SK Trichem, SK Resonac Corporation, SK Materials JNC and SK Materials Performance Co., Ltd. The results of the business realignment have translated into financial performance. On a consolidated basis, SK ecoplant posted revenue of KRW 10.0504 trillion and operating profit of KRW 1.465 trillion in the first half of 2026.
An SK Inc. spokesperson said, “With SK ecoplant becoming a wholly owned subsidiary, we will strengthen our business competitiveness across the semiconductor and AI value chains and channel the resulting gains into enhancing shareholder value at SK Inc.”

[email protected] Lim Su-bin Reporter