[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] SK Chemicals has decided not to continue selling its pharmaceutical business division, which has been pursued since last year.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 15th, SK Chemicals officially notified domestic private equity fund operator Glenwood Private Equity (PE) that it would end negotiations to sell its pharmaceutical division.

SK Chemicals has two major businesses: the green chemical division, which is an eco-friendly materials business, and the life science division, which is a pharmaceutical and vaccine business. Among them, the company has been pushing for the sale of the Life Science division, which belongs to the pharmaceutical division. Previously, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Glenwood PE for negotiations in September last year.

The IB industry believes that the sale negotiations have been suspended as SK Chemicals' performance deteriorated significantly last year. SK Chemicals recorded 1.7488 trillion won in sales last year, down 4.4% from a year earlier. Operating profit for the same period fell 63.3 percent to 84.6 billion won.

However, SK Chemicals explained that it ended the sale negotiations by focusing on the growth of the pharmaceutical business and the creation of a new vision under the existing business portfolio structure.

 

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