이 기사는 2022년 05월 02일 08:05 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

SK Materials Airplus, the industrial gas unit of SK Group, may want to lease back its industrial gas facility after selling it to an investment firm, industry sources said.

Macquarie Group, KKR and Brookfield Asset Management are in the bidding race to buy the South Korean company’s industrial gas facility in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, near SK hinyx’s plants. The price tag is estimated to be around 1 trillion won ($795 million).

Many industry experts think that SK Materials Airplus is likely to continue to operate the Icheon gas facility by leasing it back after sale, saying that the company may not want to give up the facility’s high profits.

SK Materials Airplus recorded an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)-to-revenue ratio of 44.3% in 2021, much higher than those of rivals such as DIG Airgas (29%) and AirFIrst (33%).

The Icheon gas facility was constructed near the plants of SK hynix, the main customer of SK Materials Airplus, based on the contract between the two parties. This type of contract requires the gas supplier to initially spend a heavy amount on building new facilities but profitability can improve fast as the customer shares electricity charges, which represent a sizable portion of total production costs.

SK Materials Airplus started supplying industrial gases through its Icheon facility to SK hynix’s M14 plant in 2017 and the M16 plant in September 2020.

The winning bidder may also prefer to lease the Icheon gas facility back to SK Materials Airplus because in this way, it can enjoy stable cash flow generated from rent while letting the company operate the facility.

Yet, SK Materials Airplus denied such a possibility, saying that it is “not currently considering leasing back the facility after sale”.

The proceeds from the sale are expected to be used for production facility construction rather than new business opportunities, especially given SK hynix is set to start construction of its new plant in Yongin in May. This means SK Materials Airplus also needs to prepare to build a gas facility in the city, industry watchers said. (Reporting by Byung-keun Kam)