SK hynix Inc. said Monday it was mulling selling a water processing facility to SK reit Co. to secure funds for future investment and enhance financial soundness.
The world's second-largest memory chip maker said the potential sale of the "non-core asset" to the real estate investment trust company, another subsidiary of SK Group, is part of its efforts to secure financing at a time when global chipmakers have raced to increase manufacturing capacity.
SK reit filed an application with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Monday for a potential takeover of the facility, located in Icheon, some 60 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The two companies plan to get the government's greenlight and close the deal, worth an estimated 1 trillion won (US$765 million), by the end of the year.
Once the deal is done, SK hynix will lease the facility from SK reit, the chipmaker said.
"It became crucial for a company to slim down amid growing economic uncertainties and run financial soundness," Kim Woo-hyun, chief financial officer at SK hynix, said.
"We will continue to review ways for asset-light to improve asset efficiency," he said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency