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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Group to consolidate scattered green businesses to achieve scale and attract global capital
SK Group is pushing ahead with a major restructuring of its renewable energy portfolio by forming a joint venture (JV) with global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).
According to industry sources on Feb. 12, SK Group is in discussions to establish a 50:50 JV with KKR under a strategic partnership. As a preliminary step, SK is reportedly pursuing the sale of a 31% stake in SK Eternix—currently held by SK Discovery—to KKR. SK Eternix operates renewable energy businesses including solar, wind, energy storage systems (ESS), and fuel cells.
Following the stake sale, SK Group and KKR are expected to jointly establish a new entity that would consolidate renewable energy operations currently held by SK Innovation, SK Eco Plant, and SK Discovery. The move would effectively create a unified SK-KKR renewable energy company.
Within the group, multiple affiliates have independently pursued renewable energy projects, leading to overlapping investments and limited synergy. For example, SK Innovation and SK Eternix have separately participated in solar projects in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, and offshore wind projects in Shinan, South Jeolla Province, while also running distributed solar businesses in Vietnam. The need to streamline roles and pool capabilities has been raised internally.
Through integration, SK aims to eliminate inefficiencies from duplicated investments and build economies of scale to compete in capital-intensive projects such as offshore wind, which require trillions of won in funding and long payback periods.
At the same time, partnering with KKR would provide substantial capital injection, helping to ease financial burdens and distribute risks while securing a stronger foothold in the fast-growing global renewable energy market.
KKR has demonstrated an aggressive investment strategy in climate and environmental sectors, committing approximately $44 billion to such investments since 2010, making it a strategic partner of choice for SK’s renewable energy ambitions.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
