■ On June 8, SK Innovation Board of Directors approved the attraction of an investment worth USD 400 million from a financial investor from Singapore

■ Amid unfavorable global financial market conditions, SK On successfully attracted investment worth KRW 5 trillion, surpassing its initial goal by over 24%

■ Recognized for its growth potential, SK On has received a series of investments from the capital market, establishing a foundation to become a top global company

SK On, SK Innovation’s subsidiary for the battery business, SK On, has successfully attracted additional long-term financial investment. SK On has successfully secured approximately KRW 5 trillion in funding since last year, laying a stable foundation to become a top global company.

On June 8, SK Innovation held a board meeting and approved the item for shareholder agreement for SK On’s investment attraction. Similar to the approval of receiving the investment of up to USD 800 million (approximately KRW 1.05 trillion) from MBK Consortium on May 24, this is a contract between SK Innovation, SK On, and the new financial investor (FI). SK On is expected to receive an investment of USD 400 million (approximately KRW 530 billion) from this FI. Based in Singapore, this FI is a member of the MBK Consortium and has joined the investment in SK On.

With this, SK On is expected to raise a maximum of KRW 4.97 trillion, and this amount surpasses the initial target of KRW 4 trillion by over 24%. Previously, it attracted investments of KRW 1.2 trillion from the Korea Investment PE EastBridge Consortium, KRW 2 trillion from its parent company SK Innovation, USD 800 million from MBK Consortium, and USD 144 million (approximately KRW 190 billion) from SNB Capital.

In addition, when including *Eurobonds worth KRW 1.2 trillion and borrowings of KRW 2 trillion, the total amount that SK On secured from the end of last year to this month reaches a maximum of KRW 8.17 trillion.

(*)Eurobonds: Eurobonds refer to all bonds foreign companies issued and distributed in a currency not native to the country where it is issued. They are international bonds that allow companies to raise funds based on the abundant foreign exchange liquidity of the issuing country.

Amid the unfavorable global financial environment, the successful attraction of the equity investment demonstrates the recognition of the growth potential of the electric vehicle (EV) battery market and SK On by the capital market.

SK On has been experiencing rapid growth as its revenue doubles each year, making it the fastest-growing global battery company. The Q1 sales of SK On this year reached KRW 3.3 trillion, and it already surpassed 40% of the annual sales, KRW 7.6 trillion, recorded in the previous year. The estimated sales for this year are expected to exceed KRW 15 trillion. With the new investments as a foothold for growth, SK On is now able to accelerate its expansion of annual production capacity to at least 220 GWh by 2025. The new battery factories that SK On currently pushes forward with include the expansion of its own production plants in China and Hungary, as well as joint battery production plants with automakers such as Ford and Hyundai Motor Group.

With the series of successes in attracting investment, the financial soundness of SK On is expected to become even stronger. Financial soundness is a key indicator that determines a company’s credit rating. In the first credit rating received from NICE Investors Service Co., Korea Investors Service Inc., and Korea Ratings, SK On received an excellent rating of “A2+.” Higher ratings allow a company to issue and distribute promissory notes in the capital market.

“SK On is raising investment funds through various methods, including Pre-IPO,” said an official of SK Innovation. “We will continue to strengthen the company’s financial structure, and accelerate our expansion to the overseas markets by using this solid structure as a foundation.”