SK IE Technology's IPO priced at 105,000 won a share

SK IE Technology’s battery separator plant in Changzhou, China [JOONGANG PHOTO]

SK IE Technology’s initial public offering has been priced at 105,000 won ($94), the high end of the range.

The company, which was spun off from SK Innovation in 2019, develops separators, a key component in lithium-ion batteries.

Bookbuilding was held on April 22 and 23, with 1,734 institutional investors taking part. Shares will be made available to retail investors from Wednesday. They will be offered 25 percent of the total shares outstanding, or around 5,347,500 shares, while 55 percent will go to institutions.

SK IE Technology will raise 2.25 trillion won from the IPO, and the shares will begin trading on the Korea Exchange on May 11.

They can be purchased through five brokerages: Mirae Asset Securities, NH Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and SK Securities.

Retail investors can subscribe through multiple brokerages.

The listing comes after a series of IPO flops in Korea or involving Korea-related companies, in which the shares declined following the offering. Kakao Games, SK Biopharmaceuticals, Coupang, Kyochon F&B and Big Hit Entertainment are among the companies that disappointed the market.

SK IE Technology’s net profit last year rose 38.4 percent to 88.2 billion won on a revenue that jumped 78.4 percent to 469.3 billion won. It had 197 employees as of late last year, led by CEO Roh Jae-sok.

The company said it has been working on materials for solid-state batteries and will develop polyimide film technology for flexible displays. Solid-state batteries are next-generation battery candidates.

The company is expected to spend the IPO proceeds to build two additional electric vehicle battery separator plants at an existing complex in Poland to raise its production capacity. It also operates factories in Korea and China.

SK IE Technology’s IPO arrives after SK Innovation agreed earlier this month to pay 2 trillion won to LG Energy Solution to put an end to a two-year patent battle over electric vehicle battery technology.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]