SEOUL (Reuters) – SK Innovation Co Ltd said on Thursday its shareholders had approved the company’s proposal to separate its battery business into a new company.
The decision paves the way for the battery business, a supplier for Ford Motor Co, Hyundai Motor Co and among others, to potentially raise funds and go public to finance its high-cost production capacity expansion.
The unit, which will be launched on Oct. 1, will first become SK Innovation’s wholly-owned subsidiary tentatively named “SK Battery Co Ltd.”
More than 80% of SK Innovation shareholders voted in favour of the plan, SK Innovation said in a statement.
South Korea’s National Pension Service, SK Innovation’s No.2 shareholder with an 8.05% stake, on Tuesday voted against the split-off plan, citing concerns about damage to shareholder value.
Shares of SK Innovation were trading down 1.4% versus a 0.5% fall in the benchmark KOSPI as of 0131 GMT.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Stephen Coates)
