Doosan Group has emerged as the leading candidate to acquire SK Siltron Co., the world’s third-largest semiconductor wafer producer, in a deal that could reshape Doosan’s industrial portfolio.
If successful, the deal would also mark its biggest strategic pivot since its landmark takeover of Doosan Bobcat in 2007.
According to people familiar with the matter on Wednesday, the South Korean conglomerate is in exclusive talks with SK Group over the purchase of a 70.6% stake in SK Siltron held by SK Inc., SK’s holding firm.
The 29.4% stake owned by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is not included in the transaction, sources said.
Doosan aims to sign a share purchase agreement by the end of the year, following board-level approval expected shortly after the Chuseok holidays, they said.
The negotiating parties have valued SK Siltron at just under 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion), or about seven times SK Siltron’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 700 billion won last year.
While SK Siltron’s enterprise value is close to 5 trillion won, its net equity value is estimated at between 1.5 trillion won and 2 trillion won after about 3 trillion won in debt is factored in, sources said.
HAHN & CO., MBK, IMM, STIC DROPPED OUT OF THE RACE
Doosan beat out several private equity funds, including Hahn & Co., MBK Partners Ltd., IMM Private Equity and STIC Investments Inc., after rival bidders dropped out of the process.
The acquisition is being pursued through Doosan Corp., the group’s holding company.
SK Siltron would give Doosan a strategic anchor in the front-end of chip manufacturing, where it currently lacks scale.
If successful, the acquisition would mark Doosan’s most significant M&A transaction since its 2007 acquisition of US construction equipment maker Bobcat, later renamed Doosan Bobcat Inc.
SK Siltron is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of semiconductor wafers, also called substrates, after Japan’s SUMCO and Shin-Etsu Chemical.
By Jun-Ho Cha
chacha@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
