Seoul-based private equity firm Hahn & Co. has agreed to buy the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pads manufacturing division of SK Enpulse Co., wholly owned by SKC Ltd., for 341.0 billion won ($233 million), the latest in the series of its acquisitions of SK Group’s businesses.
A CMP pad is used to polish the surface of semiconductor wafers physically and chemically to increase the integration of semiconductors. Demand for the consumable is on the rise thanks to the increase in three-dimensional NAND flash production.
The disposal of the business is aimed at improving its financial conditions, SK Enpulse said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The deal will close on April 1, 2025.
The acquisition followed Hahn & Co.’s 330.3-billion-won purchase of SK Enpulse’s fine ceramics business in October, which produces consumable materials such as alumina, silicon and quartz used for semiconductor and display manufacturing processes.
On Tuesday, the buyout firm also agreed to buy an 85% stake in the world’s top specialty gas producer SK Specialty Co. for 2.7 trillion won from SK Inc.
Since 2018, Hahn & Co. has snapped up units of SK Group, South Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate, including SK Shipping Co., K Car Co., SK D&D Co. and SKC’s industrial film business.
Separate from the latest deal with the private equity house, SK Enpulse will spin off the business that produces testers, equipment front end module (EFEM) and chemicals used for the post process for semiconductor manufacturing.
Write to Ji-Eun Ha at [email protected]
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.
