SK ie technology aims to go public in May

SK ie technology's separator factory under construction in Poland. [SK INNOVATION]

SK ie technology, an SK Innovation subsidiary that makes battery separators, said Wednesday it plans to go public on the Korean bourse in May. It filed the securities registration with the Financial Services Commission on Wednesday.

The company, 90 percent owned by SK Innovation, will newly issue 8.55 million shares with the parent company putting 12.8 million shares it had held onto on the market. That equals 22.7 percent of the 90 percent SK Innovation owns.

The battery component maker has set the price range at between 78,000 won to 105,000 won ($69 to $93) per share.

Based on the pricing, SK ie technology's market capitalization falls between 5.6 trillion won and 7.5 trillion won.

"If the initial public offering (IPO) succeeds as planned, the company will be able to secure 2.3 trillion won for investment financing," the company said in a statement Wednesday. "It will be used to invest in SK Innovation's new growth business including batteries and separators."

Book building will be held on April 22 and 23 with the company receiving subscriptions from retail investors on April 28 and 29.

Institutional investors will be allocated 55 percent of public shares, followed by retail investors with 25 percent.

SK ie technology spun off from SK Innovation in 2019. Its net profit stood at 88.2 billion won in 2020, a 38.4 percent year-on-year growth.

Recently, it pledged to invest 1.13 trillion won to build additional facilities in Poland to meet growing demand for electric vehicles, hence the components for batteries.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]