이 기사는 2019년 12월 04일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

The South Korean government has rolled up its sleeves to enhance competitiveness of domestic firms in the materials, parts and equipment sectors. The Consultative Group for Acquisition Financing, an organization launched by the government in September to support overseas M&A activities in these sectors, has chosen SK Siltron’s acquisition of DuPont’s wafer business as its first deal to provide support.

The Consultative Group plans to provide acquisition financing to SK Siltron, a semiconductor material producer under SK Group, which will be the new owner of the U.S. chemical company DuPont’s wafer business, according to industry sources on November 28. “The Consultative Group is expected to provide acquisition financing in the form of a loan at a rate slightly lower than SK Siltron’s current borrowing rate. It will soon announce a concrete plan including detailed information on the size and maturity of the loan,” said an industry insider.

SK Siltron announced earlier in September that it would acquire the silicon carbide (SiC) wafer business of DuPont for $450 million. Due to its properties of high resistance to temperature and pressure compared to other silicon wafers, SiC wafers are commonly used as a main material for high-tech products including electric vehicles.

Currently Japanese players, such as Shin-Etsu Chemical and SUMCO, dominate the silicon wafer market globally, with a total of more than 50 percent market share. Indeed, Japan accounted for nearly 40 percent of the South Korea’s total silicon wafer imports in the first half of 2019. SK Siltron’s acquisition of DuPont’s SiC wafer business would make it possible for the country to reduce its dependence on Japanese silicon wafer producers, possibly leading to market consolidation.

SK Siltron said it plans to pay the acquisition amount from its existing cash resources, along with through borrowing from external sources. As of the end of the third quarter, the company had cash and cash equivalents worth 319.7 billion won ($269 million). Market watchers are expecting SK Siltron to prefer to save its cash as much as possible, which could lead to a higher amount of loan provided by the Consultative Group.

The Consultative Group – reportedly composed of the country’s major state and commercial banks including Korea Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of Korea, NongHyup Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea – is expected to offer a slightly lower rate than SK Siltron’s current borrowing rate, given its purpose of boosting overseas M&A activities of domestic tech companies. According to the company report, SK Siltron’s borrowing rate is at two to three percent. Considering this, many market watchers are anticipating that the Consultative Group would offer the company a borrowing rate in the lower two percent range.

“There have been doubts in the market over the effectiveness of this measure. SK Siltron’s acquisition of DuPont’s wafer business would be the first deal that the Consultative Group involves. Thus it is likely to offer a favorable terms to SK Siltron due to the symbolic importance of the transaction,” said the industry insider.

(By reporter Kim Byung-yoon)