According to financial sources on May 18, Doosan Group plans to sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with SK Group for the acquisition of SK Siltron by the end of this month. The company's valuation is estimated to be around 5 trillion won.
To secure the acquisition funds, Doosan Group has selected KDB and Woori as joint arrangers and is discussing financial terms. The financing will be pursued through a syndicated loan involving multiple financial institutions, with market estimates suggesting a total amount of approximately 2.5 trillion won.
A KDB official stated, "We are in discussions for a joint arrangement, but we are also working on a structure that involves multiple financial companies, and the final amount may vary."
Doosan Group currently produces core semiconductor materials, such as copper-clad laminates (CCL), through its Doosan Electronics BG and also owns Doosan Test, a semiconductor backend testing company. If the acquisition of SK Siltron is successful, Doosan will secure wafer manufacturing capabilities, completing the value chain from materials to backend processes. This move is also expected to boost the local economies in regions where SK Siltron operates, such as Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province and Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province, while attracting additional investments.
Notably, Doosan Group, which previously faced a liquidity crisis, has made a remarkable recovery with the support of KDB. Doosan Enerbility (formerly Doosan Heavy Industries) received 3 trillion won in emergency funding from KDB and the Export-Import Bank in 2020, followed by a rigorous restructuring process that allowed it to exit creditor management in 2022.
However, as national policy banks provide financial support for large mergers and acquisitions by conglomerates, discussions about the appropriateness of such interventions are expected to continue. Despite the overarching goal of fostering national strategic industries, there may be differing opinions on how far policy financing should go in supporting the expansion of specific conglomerates.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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