Plug Power Tank Lorry Hankyung DB
SK Group plans to sell some of its stake in a special purpose company (SPC) established to invest in plug power, a US hydrogen company. It is reported that SK Group will maintain its stake in Plug Power and continue strategic cooperation as a single largest shareholder, while realizing some profits and reinvesting funds for shareholder return and new businesses.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 9th, SK Group is discussing with multiple private equity funds (PEFs) to dispose of a portion of its stake in Grove Energy Capital, an SPC established to acquire Plugpower. It plans to hand over up to 49% of the stake in SPC to financial investors (FIs). Considering that the market cap of Plug Power in the US NASDAQ market is around W21tr, the stake in SPC for sale is estimated to be over W1tr.
SK Co., Ltd. and SK E&S became the single largest shareholder by investing $800 million each through their overseas subsidiaries in January of this year to the corresponding SPC and taking over a 9.9% stake in Plug Power for $1.6 billion (approximately 1.8 trillion won). Plug Power is considered to be the only global hydrogen fuel cell company that has all the value chains from production (upstream) to storage and transportation (middlestream) and supply (downstream). After SK investment, it is expanding its business by announcing the establishment of a joint venture (JV) with Renault in France and Axiona in Spain. It is also seeking synergy with SK Group by promoting the establishment of an Asia-based JV.
Even if SK Group sells some of its stake in SPC, it is expected to maintain its position as a major shareholder of Plug Power. FIs are known to be requesting a risk-prevention clause, such as SK Group holding a call option and reimbursing the stake at a specific price, and if this is not fulfilled, the investor exercised the right to claim a joint sale. SK Group is expected to ask FI to guarantee this and to distribute some of the profits that FI has earned following the increase in Plug Power’s share price in the future. An SK official said, “We are internally reviewing the securitization of the SPC, and it has not been decided in detail.”
Reporter Joonho [email protected]
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