Samsung SDI shareholders on Monday agreed to spin off the company’s chemicals business into a new affiliate called SDI Chemical, that will be sold to Lotte Chemical within the first half of this year.  

The battery-making unit of Samsung Group said it will focus more on its flagship business to cater to electric vehicles.

Samsung SDI CEO Cho Nam-seong told shareholders the company would invest 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) into the electric vehicle battery business over the next five years.

The shareholders meeting came after Samsung SDI announced in October that it would sell its chemicals business to Lotte Chemical, an affiliate of retail giant Lotte Group, for 2.58 trillion won.

Of the total shares, 90 percent will be sold within the first half of the year, while the remaining 10 percent will be sold after three years.

In 2014, Samsung sold four chemicals and defense units to Hanwha Group in a package deal worth 1.85 trillion won. With the latest Lotte deal, Samsung will completely break away from the chemicals business.

(jylee@heraldcorp.com)