December 24, 2024

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Lotte Chemical logo (Lotte Chemical)

Lotte Chemical has reportedly submitted a tender to acquire a controlling stake in South Korean copper foil manufacturer Iljin Materials on Friday.

The Seoul-based petrochemical firm is considered one of the proposed buyers of the 53.3 percent stake in Iljin Materials from President and Chief Executive Officer Huh Jae-myung, which will cost around 3 trillion won ($2.24 billion). Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities is the deal manager.

Copper foil is one of the key components of secondary batteries for electric vehicles. About 40 kilograms of copper foil is needed for the production of a single electric vehicle, causing increased demand for the material that surrounds cathodes used in batteries.

Iljin Materials has supplied copper foil products to Korean battery cell makers LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI.

Iljin Materials logged an operating profit of 46.8 billion won in the first half of this year, up 33.5 percent from the previous year. The company disclosed in May that its largest shareholder has been reviewing plans for a selloff.

The petrochemical unit of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group looks to become the second-largest copper foil producer in Korea through the acquisition, after SK nexilis. Iljin Materials manufactures about 15 percent of the world‘s copper foil. The company currently has an annual copper foil production capacity of 40,000 tons.

Lotte Group has been expanding its investment in electric vehicle battery components. Lotte Chemical announced in May plans to invest a combined 4 trillion won in the field of battery components by 2030, with the goal of generating 5 trillion won in revenue annually beginning 2030.

By Lee Yoon-seo (yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com)