이 기사는 2022년 01월 20일 08:08 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

SK Ecoengineering, a new spinoff from SK Ecoplant, will be launched in two weeks with sound financial status.

SK Ecoengineering, the new entity established by spinning off SK Ecoplant’s plant business, will be launched on February 1, according to industry sources on Tuesday.

SK Ecoplant decided in October 2021 to hive off the bulk of its plant business that is in charge of electric vehicle batteries, lithium-ion battery separator (LiBS), and petrochemicals, and merge it with SK Ecoengineering. The merger date has been postponed from January 17 to February 1 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

SK Ecoplant also said last year that it will sell redeemable convertible preference shares issued by SK Ecoengineering to a consortium of South Korea-based IUM Private Equity and Mirae Asset Securities for 450 billion won ($377 million). The plan was approved at an extraordinary shareholder meeting in December 2021.

SK Ecoengineering is expected to have a sounder financial structure than that of SK Ecoplant, the surviving entity. According to SK Ecoplant, the new entity is expected to have a debt-to-equity ratio of 144% and a current ratio of 172%, which will make the company relatively free from a burden of repaying short-term borrowings for a while.

A debt-to-equity ratio of SK Ecoplant is expected to be 322%, which is 150% points higher than that of SK Ecoengineering. It is said that SK Ecoplant drew up a financial structure favorable to SK Ecoengineering in a bid for the smooth sale of the stake in the plant business and the stable initial management of the new entity.

SK Ecoplant has appointed Kim Dae-sung, the head of Ecoengineering solutions group, as the interim CEO of the new entity. Born in 1969, Kim joined SK Ecoplant in 1995. The new CEO will be appointed after the launch next month.

SK Engineering aims to grow into an engineering company specializing in green energy, including batteries, LiBS, and hydrogen. (Reporting by Jeong-wan Lee)