SK Group said Friday that its new holding firm -- formed via the merger of SK Holdings and IT unit SK C&C -- will officially begin operations Saturday.

The newly-launched SK Holdings, whose combined assets are estimated at 13.2 trillion won ($11.3 billion) with a workforce of 4,100, plans to function under a “one-entity but two-track” system, said a group spokesman.

The original SK Holdings president and CEO Cho Dae-sik and SK C&C CEO Park Jung-ho will respectively head the merged firm’s two business divisions, which will retain their original titles.
 

Though the share swap ratio between SK Holdings and SK C&C was set at 0.737 to 1 when the merger was concluded on April 26, the new entity retained the name SK Holdings to sustain the conglomerate’s brand identity, according to SK C&C.

The merger came as SK Group is looking to streamline and simplify its governance structure so that the official holding company can take sole control over all of SK’s subsidiaries.

Prior to the merger, SK C&C had been effectively controlling the group with a 31.8 percent stake in SK Holdings, which owns stakes in various subsidiaries including SK Telecom (25.2 percent), SK Innovation (33.4 percent), SK E&S (94.1 percent), SKC (42.3 percent) and SK Networks (39.1 percent).

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won has also solidified his grip over the conglomerate thanks to the merger, now owning a combined stake of 30.6 percent in the new holding company. Prior to the merger, he had owned a 32.9 percent stake in SK C&C and a 0.02 percent stake in SK Holdings.

“The merged SK Holdings is looking to record 200 trillion won in sales and profits of 10 trillion won before taxes,” Chey said at the shareholders meeting in April. 

The firm plans to “focus on nurturing SK’s information technology services, information and communication technology, liquefied natural gas, biopharmaceuticals and semiconductor businesses,” which are “set to drive forward the company’s future growth,” according to the chairman.

“The new entity is forecast to grow into a globally competitive and business-centered holding company, in line with market expectations,” said an SK Group official.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)