Australian Household Spending Rebounds Strongly in May as Travel and Dining Drive Consumer Growth 
Asian Currencies Trade Mixed as Yen Hovers Near 40-Year Low, Dollar Holds Firm on Fed Outlook 
Morgan Stanley Sees Chinese Auto Market Recovery Gaining Momentum in Late Summer 
South Korea’s KOSPI Jumps Over 5% as Samsung, SK Hynix Rally on Micron Earnings Boost 
Fortescue Faces Class Action Over Sexual Harassment Claims at Australian Mining Sites 
Tesla and NatPower Partner on $5 Billion Battery Storage Expansion in Europe 
South Korea Remains MSCI Emerging Market Despite Reform Progress 
South Korea’s KOSPI Plunges as Apple Price Hikes and OpenAI IPO Delay Shake AI Chip Stocks 
Bayer Wins Major U.S. Supreme Court Roundup Lawsuit, Shares Surge 
Asian Stocks Sink as Apple Price Hikes Spark AI Valuation Fears, South Korea and Japan Lead Selloff 
Gold Falls Below $4,000 as Strong Dollar and Fed Rate Hike Expectations Weigh on Prices 
Heineken Names JDE Peet’s CEO Rafael Oliveira as New Chief Executive 
White House Seeks $87.6 Billion Emergency Funding for Iran War, Farmers, and Ebola Response 
Japan Signals Preference for Low Interest Rates as BOJ Policy Debate Intensifies 
Oil Prices Drop as Strait of Hormuz Shipping Recovers 
US Dollar Slips After PCE Inflation Data Eases Fed Rate Hike Expectations 
Lotte Chemical reportedly placed its bid to buy a controlling stake in Iljin Materials Co. Ltd, an electric foil manufacturing company. The chemicals firm headquartered in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was said to have submitted its offer late last week.
Lotte Chemical is now considered one of the potential buyers of a 53.3% stake in Iljin Materials, which is worth KRW3 trillion or about $2.24 billion. The huge stake percentage that is up for sale
Understood to be owned by the company’s president and chief executive officer, Huh Jae Myung. The deal has been assigned to be managed by Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities, as per The Korea Herald.
Iljin Materials has been supplying copper foil products to various battery cell producers in South Korea, and some of its major customers include Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution. For the first half of this year, the company Iljin reported operating earnings of KRW46.8 billion. This figure is said to have increased by 33.5% compared to the profits of the same period from the previous year.
In May, Iljin Materials revealed that its largest shareholder is considering the sale of his stake, and the plan is being reviewed. Now, it seems that the selloff has already been decided as companies are already submitting proposal bids.
Lotte Chemical is the petrochemical arm of the Lotte Group, and with the potential acquisition of Iljin Materials, it is looking to become the second biggest copper foil maker in the country. It was noted that the current leading producer in South Korea is SK nexilis.
In any case, Iljin Materials has been producing around 15% of the total copper foil in the world. Currently, it has an annual production capacity of 40,000 tons.
Lotte Group’s submission of a bid for the acquisition is not surprising because it has been expanding its business in the electric vehicle battery components field. In fact, Lotte Chemical divulged its plans to invest around KRW4 trillion in the battery components biz by the year 2030. It is aiming to generate KRW5 trillion in annual profits starting in 2030.
