Asian Markets Rebound as Tech Rally Lifts Wall Street, Investors Brace for BOJ Rate Hike 
FedEx Beats Q2 Earnings Expectations, Raises Full-Year Outlook Despite Stock Dip 
Toyota to Sell U.S.-Made Camry, Highlander, and Tundra in Japan From 2026 to Ease Trade Tensions 
ANZ New CEO Forgoes Bonus After Shareholders Reject Executive Pay Report 
BoE Set to Cut Rates as UK Inflation Slows, but Further Easing Likely Limited 
Micron Technology Forecasts Surge in Revenue and Earnings on AI-Driven Memory Demand 
U.S. Lawmakers Urge Pentagon to Blacklist More Chinese Tech Firms Over Military Ties 
Japan Exports to U.S. Rebound in November as Tariff Impact Eases, Boosting BOJ Rate Hike Expectations 
Kevin Hassett Says Inflation Is Below Target, Backs Trump’s Call for Rate Cuts 
EU Approves €90 Billion Ukraine Aid as Frozen Russian Asset Plan Stalls 
7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto to Retire After Two Decades at the Helm 
Citi Appoints Ryan Ellis as Head of Markets Sales for Australia and New Zealand 
Trump Defends Economic Record in North Carolina as Midterm Election Pressure Mounts 
Canada Signals Delay in US Tariff Deal as Talks Shift to USMCA Review 
Yen Near Lows as Markets Await Bank of Japan Rate Decision, Euro Slips After ECB Signals Caution 
Roche CEO Warns US Drug Price Deals Could Raise Costs of New Medicines in Switzerland 
BOJ Poised for Historic Rate Hike as Japan Signals Shift Toward Monetary Normalization 
South Korean conglomerate SKC Ltd. plans to sell its polyol subsidiary, SK Pucore, formerly Mitsui Chemical & SKC Polyurethanes Inc. (MCNS), to private equity firm Glenwood PE. The divestiture signals SKC's strategic realignment towards growth sectors and EV battery materials production.
MCNS was set up by SKC and Japan's Mitsui Chemicals Inc. as part of their joint venture agreement in 2015. Their deal was worth KRW500 billion or around $389.7 million at that time. Now, it is for sale and expected to be acquired by said alternative investment firm headquartered in South Korea.
SKC made the decision to sell so it can expand and seek new growth engines from new business sectors. Moreover, the company will also use the sale to raise its production capacity for battery material copper foil for electric vehicles. It may also buy new non-core firms using the earnings from the sale of SK Pucore.
The Korea Economic Daily reported that Glenwood Private Equity has signed a memorandum of understanding with SKC for the acquisition of a 100% stake in SK Pucore. The deal is expected to be completed by next month.
The agreement with the PEF company is possible as SKC and Mitsui Chemicals agreed to terminate their joint venture contract in September 2021. As a result, MCNS became a wholly-owned subsidiary of SKC and rebranded as SK Pucore.
According to Pulse News, Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Korean member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, is serving as the financial adviser for Glenwood Private Equity. The deal may be worth 10 times more based on last year's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) which was at KRW48.8 billion.
"This year, we plan to strengthen the competitiveness of our core businesses by expanding global expansion and sales of copper foil and increasing the proportion of high-value-added products in our semiconductor and chemical businesses," SKC's CEO Park Won Cheol said in a statement a few months ago. "We will expand new growth businesses through active additional mergers and acquisitions."
Photo by: SKC Website
