The Move Secures 1.5 Trillion Won in Cash, Easing Funding for Convertible Share Redemption and AI Restructuring
Headquarters of SK Ecoplant.
SK Ecoplant has disposed of its entire stake in Bloom Energy, the world’s No. 1 fuel cell company for power generation. This is interpreted as a move to secure large-scale liquidity during the process of repaying financial investor funds and reorganizing its business centered on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
According to the business report on May 21, SK Ecoplant sold 700,000 shares of Bloom Energy on April 13. The disposal amount is estimated to be around 160 billion won (approximately $106.7 million). With this transaction, SK Ecoplant’s stake in Bloom Energy has been completely cleared.
Bloom Energy is the world’s No. 1 fuel cell company for power generation. SK Ecoplant purchased 10 million shares of Bloom Energy for about 300 billion won in 2021, and jointly invested 400 billion won with SKS Private Equity to purchase an additional 13.5 million shares in 2023. The total investment amount is around 700 billion won..
At the time, SK Ecoplant made the investment in Bloom Energy to expand its eco-friendly business centered on hydrogen and fuel cells. Recently, it has been accelerating asset monetization to reorganize its business portfolio around AI data centers and semiconductor infrastructure.
The stake clearance began last year. In July last year, it disposed of 10 million shares of Bloom Energy at $27.6 per share through a block deal (after-hours block trading), securing about 380 billion won. In December of the same year, it sold 6.27 million shares at $108 per share, adding about 1 trillion won in liquidity. By clearing the remaining 700,000 shares this year, it grasped a total of 1.5 trillion won in cash. The return on investment for SK Ecoplant and SKS Private Equity is over 100%.
The industry views that SK Ecoplant’s large-scale funding needs are interlocked with this stake sale. SK Ecoplant held a Board of Directors meeting in April and decided to redeem the Convertible Preferred Shares issued in 2022. The method involves the purchasing about 200 billion won worth of shares by the holding company, SK Inc., and the direct acquiring of the remaining 650 billion won worth of shares by SK Ecoplant. The market considers it highly likely that the funds from the Bloom Energy stake sale were utilized as financial resources for the Convertible Preferred Shares redemption.
There is also an interpretation that this is part of securing investment resources for business reorganization centered on semiconductor and AI infrastructure. SK Ecoplant is stepping up to strengthen the value chain encompassing semiconductor materials, industrial gas, and recycling, including the construction business of semiconductor manufacturing facilities and AI data centers.
The portfolio transition has also led to improved performance. The operating profit in the first quarter of this year was 931.4 billion won, an increase of about 1262% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, sales increased by 99% to record 4.8997 trillion won. The debt ratio also decreased from 192% at the end of last year to 176% in the first quarter of this year.
An official from SK Ecoplant said, “We will strengthen profitability and financial soundness based on our differentiated competitiveness in the semiconductor and AI infrastructure sectors,” and added, “We plan to maintain our strategic partnership with Bloom Energy.”
Jung Suk-yee
댓글
0