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| SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won / Courtesy of SK Group |
SK Siltron, SK Group's semiconductor material producer, announced Tuesday it had acquired DuPont's silicon carbide (SiC) wafer business for $450 million.
SiC wafers are a key component in making semiconductors with its high thermal and radiation resistance, according to the company.
SK Group said the latest deal was part of its efforts to fortify material business and create synergy between its affiliates in rising electric vehicle (EV) businesses.
Industry officials say the latest deal was possible because Chey has cultivated a close relationship with former DowDuPont executive chairman Andrew Liveris over a decade.
"The cross-border deal wouldn't have been possible without long-term trust between the two leaders," an SK Group official said.
DuPont merged with Dow Chemical to form a holding company DowDuPont in 2017, but separated to form an independent chemical company this year.
According to SK Group, Chey first met with Liveris at the World Economic Forum in 2010.
The two reaffirmed their strong partnership in advanced material business when SK Global Chemical acquired Dow Chemical's ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) unit and polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) unit in 2017 to expand the company's packaging and automotive materials businesses.
EAA is mainly used as an adhesive for use in packaging materials such as aluminum foils and polyethylene. PVDC is used for clear film packaging including plastic food wrap.
A series of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and post-merger integrations (PMIs) also contributed to SK Siltron's acquisition of DuPont's SiC wafer business, according to industry officials.
SK Group has grown in scale through numerous acquisitions, including taking control of Hynix Semiconductor in 2011, SK Materials in 2016, SK Siltron in 2017, and the U.S. pharmaceutical producer AMPAC in 2018. After the acquisitions, the company sought to maximize their values through PMIs.
