Samsung to sell stake in petrochemical operations to Lotte

30-Oct-15

The Samsung group will sell its stakes in petrochemical affiliates to the Lotte group, in a deal, worth an estimated 3 trillion South Korean won ($2.66 billion), exiting the industry to focus on mainstay businesses such as electronics and finance. Under the deal announced Friday, Lotte Chemical Corp., a petrochemical company controlled by Korean-Japanese conglomerate Lotte, will acquire a 90% stake in Samsung SDi Co.'s chemical business, a 31.5% stake in Samsung Fine Chemicals Co. and a 49% in Samsung BP Chemicals Co. The deal will allow Lotte Chemical to boost its revenue by more than 30% to 20 trillion won (US$17.51 bln). The acquisition of Samsung's assets will give it access to high-value-added materials such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and electronic component materials for chipmaking. Samsung has been racing to restructure its businesses amid slowing growth.