A silicon wafer manufacturing facility at SK Siltron. [SK Siltron]
A silicon wafer manufacturing facility at SK Siltron. [SK Siltron]

Negotiations between SK Group and Doosan over the sale of SK Siltron shares have been dragging, with market observers saying the rapid shift in the semiconductor landscape this year has made it far harder to agree on deal terms.

According to industry sources, SK is in detailed talks with Doosan, which was named the preferred bidder for the SK Siltron stake. Multiple views have emerged within SK Inc.'s board of directors over whether to proceed with the sale, and no clear conclusion has been reached. "If the buyer agrees to the outcome of the price negotiations, the acquisition could move forward immediately," one industry official said.

Korea's only wafer maker sees status transformed by semiconductor boom

Doosan formally announced its plan to acquire wafer maker SK Siltron around last December, raising expectations for an expanded semiconductor value chain. At the time, Doosan disclosed it had been named the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in SK Siltron. In May, it went further, announcing plans to acquire the full 100 percent of SK Siltron shares — 70.6 percent held by SK Inc. and the remaining 29.4 percent held by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

Since then, however, the AI-driven semiconductor boom has sharply altered the dynamics surrounding the sale. The explosive growth of the AI market this year has elevated the status of semiconductor materials — wafer manufacturing in particular. The prevailing view in the market is that SK's rationale for selling SK Siltron has effectively weakened. As Korea's only domestic wafer maker, SK Siltron's circumstances have changed dramatically since it was first earmarked for divestiture as part of a portfolio restructuring. Kim Young-jin, a researcher at Pinlit Research Center, described SK Siltron as "a pillar of domestic materials self-sufficiency" and called it "a solid anchor of the supply chain."

With the AI semiconductor era now in full swing, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has been emphasizing the need to secure competitiveness across the entire supply chain. At an overseas event last month, Chey said SK Hynix would double its production capacity within five years, and described the SK Siltron sale as a matter for management-level staff to decide. Some analysts have since suggested that the momentum for the sale may have faded as SK focuses on strengthening its AI semiconductor value chain. "Given the semiconductor boom, securing a value chain running from wafer production all the way through to semiconductor manufacturing is inevitably advantageous," one industry official said.

Valuation climbs higher; Doosan says acquisition intent unchanged

The rising valuation of SK Siltron during the negotiation period is another complicating factor. When Doosan was named the preferred bidder last year, the market valued SK Siltron at around 5 trillion won ($3.36 billion). That figure has since climbed to as high as 7 trillion won, driven by the semiconductor industry's strong performance and the recent launch of a new factory. Analysts say the broad surge in valuations across semiconductor value chain companies has inevitably pulled SK Siltron's price higher as well. "Share prices at silicon wafer makers such as Sumco and Shin-Etsu Chemical have also surged, which is contributing to further delays in price negotiations," one industry official said.

Adding to the upward pressure, SK Siltron's new wafer factory — built at a cost of 2.3 trillion won — began operations earlier this month, expanding production capacity. Nice Credit Rating said that if the acquisition is confirmed, it would require a massive outlay of funds exceeding Doosan's cash holdings. According to Doosan's business report, the company held 5.33 trillion won in cash and cash equivalents as of the first quarter of this year.

Doosan, however, maintains that its intent to acquire SK Siltron has not changed. Should the deal go through, Doosan would add wafer production to its existing semiconductor value chain, which already includes manufacturing of copper-clad laminates — a key substrate material — and back-end semiconductor processing. "Negotiations for the acquisition of SK Siltron are ongoing," a Doosan official said.


klee@heraldcorp.com