SK Telecom Acquires Hynix

SK Chairman Chey gives the go-ahead to its acquisition plan to nurture it as a future growth engine

SK Telecom Co.'s acquisition of a controlling stake in Hynix Semiconductor Inc. is part of the SK Business Group's efforts to nurture the chipmaker into a future growth engine, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said.
Chey sent his executives and officials a message that read, "The semiconductor market is now bleak, but a combination of SK's corporate culture with Hynix's technological power will make the chipmaker a success story," after signing with Hynix's creditors on the acquisition of the chipmaker on the afternoon of Nov. 14.
Following the deal, the nation's largest mobile telecom operator announced it had purchased a 7.47 percent stake in Hynix Semiconductor Inc. for 1.08 trillion won.
SK Telecom bought 44.25 million existing shares of Hynix at a price of 24,500 won each in the after-hours trading session on Nov. 17, it said in a regulatory filing. On Nov. 14, SK Telecom signed an agreement with eight creditors of Hynix led by Korea Exchange Bank to pay 3.43 trillion won for a 21.05 percent stake in the chipmaker, including half of their 15 percent stake and 101.85 million new shares. SK Telecom was the only company to participate in a bid for Hynix and was selected as a preferred bidder.
The acquisition of the world's No. 2 memory chipmaker will diversify its business portfolio and help it gain ground in overseas markets, SK Telecom said. The two parties expect to close the deal by the end of the first quarter of 2012. Creditors made several failed attempts to unload their stake in Hynix and to find a buyer for the chipmaker in past years.
They became Hynix's largest shareholders in a debt-for-equity swap after injecting $4.6 billion to rescue Hynix in 2001 and 2002. nw

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won
Photo on courtesy of SK Group

Chey Calls for Extra Growth Momentum

SK Chairman urges CEOs to give an additional push for growth this year and the future at SK CEO Seminar

"Let's speed up our growth through the globalization of our operations," urged Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group at a seminar for 30 vice chairmen, CEOs, and other key executives of the group on Oct. 26-28 at the SK Academy in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the group said recently.
The SK CEO Seminar is held annually during October or November with the participation of top executives of the group to take up such subjects as reviewing the group's performance and setting new strategies for the years ahead. This year, the participants reviewed the global operations and discussed new strategies to improve overseas operations, especially in view of the uncertainty of the world economy sparked by the EU debt crisis.
SK officials said the group has been making steady growth, but Chairman Chey, not satisfied with average growth, wants to give it some extra momentum. They looked at the group's growth rate in the past months and pondered over means to give it a little extra push.
The subjects for discussion included the production of batteries for electric cars, issues in the IT sector, and healthcare to find new growth engines and other matters related to the diversification of the group's portfolio, and, as SK Telecom prepares to bid for Hynix Semiconductor, the risks associated with business portfolio expansion.
In a statement earlier this year, Chairman Chey called for holding companies with 100 trillion won in assets each in every key region of the world within 10 years. He travelled to Australia, South America (Brazil) and other regions rich in natural resources, including the Middle East, to push globalization of the group's operations.
Attending the annual event included Senior Vice Chairman of SK Holdings Chey Jae-won; Vice Chairman Chey Chang-won of SK Chemical; Vice Chairmen Kim Shin-bae and Chung Man-won of SK Holdings; Vice Chairman Park Yong-ho of SK China; President Koo Cha-young of SK Innovation; President Lee Chang-kyu of SK Networks; and President Ha Seong-min of SK Telecom, among other key affiliate CEOs.
Exports of SK Group manufacturing companies in the first half of 2011 broke company records. It accounted for more than 60 percent of the total revenue for the past two halves.
SK Group's manufacturing companies are rising up as the leading exporting companies by renewing their export sales records every year.
According to SK Group, the total revenue of SK manufacturing companies such as SK Innovation, SK Energy, SK Global Chemical, SK Lubricants, SKC, and SK Chemicals reached 28.413 trillion won and exports recorded 18.179 trillion won, which was 64 percent of total revenue.
Exports for the first half of 2011 increased by 29.8 percent from 14.25 trillion won compared with the same period of the previous year, making it the half-year record high. If petroleum demand continuously increases in the second half, it is expected that the exports of the manufacturing companies will exceed 40 trillion won for the first time in company history.
SK Group explained that the group is rising as a leading export company because Chairman Chey's export driving strategy is on track. nw