SK Telecom announced on the 25th that it will sell all of its equity in Kakao worth 413.3 billion won through a block deal. The number of shares to be sold is 10,818,510.
SK Telecom noted that it made this decision to acquire equity to fully integrate SK Broadband as a subsidiary and secure funding for future growth investments, such as in artificial intelligence (AI).
Last November, SK Telecom signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire all of SK Broadband's equity, which was 24.8%, held by Taekwang Group and Mirae Asset Group.
At that time, the equity held by Taekwang Group and Mirae Asset Group in SK Broadband was 16.75% and 8.01%, respectively.
SK Telecom plans to purchase these equities at 11,511 won per share for a total of 1.15 trillion won by next month.
Once the equity acquisition is completed, SK Broadband will effectively become a wholly owned subsidiary of SK Telecom.
Meanwhile, SK Telecom intends to continue its partnership with Kakao even after the equity sale.
In October 2019, SK Telecom exchanged 300 billion won worth of equity with Kakao and established a strategic partnership.
A representative of SK Telecom stated, 'The close cooperation between the two companies will remain unchanged, as we continue to collaborate on cloud business partnerships and joint fund operations.'