이 기사는 2021년 04월 27일 08시02분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) has decided to sell about 63% of its treasury shares to employees at a discounted price to motivate them to give their best.

A regulatory filing on Friday said the company will sell 839,308 treasury shares to its employees through an employee stock ownership plan in a transaction worth 35.9 billion won ($32.3 million). The price was set at 42,787 won apiece, which represents close to 40% discount to the company’s recent stock price in the over-the-count market.

“We decided to sell part of the company’s treasury shares to employees to strengthen their sense of responsibility,” said SK E&C in the filing.

SK E&C’s board of directors has been in discussions on the use of treasury shares for the past three months. Speculation arose that the company might want to raise money by selling them in pre-initial public offering or IPO deals in the future. But SK E&C chose to use them to encourage employee motivation.

The company holds about 1.32 million treasury shares, or 3.8% of its common stock, which were donated by Chey Chang-won, then vice-chairman of SK E&C, in 2012 when he stepped down after the company recorded huge losses from overseas operations.

The move by the company to sell treasury shares to employees could be part of its IPO preparations, some observers said. SK E&C’s employee stock ownership plan currently holds 5.22% of the company. But SK E&C said the decision was nothing to do with a potential listing.

SK E&C shares recently traded in the upper 60,000 won in the South Korean over-the-counter market. The company’s market capitalization stood at 2.4 trillion won. The stock price once rose as high as 100,000 won in January as investors grew optimistic about the company’s growth prospects after its acquisition of waste management firm EMC Holdings.

The acquisition was part of efforts by SK E&C to diversify its business away from construction, which could help increase the company’s valuation. SK E&C may start preparations for a potential IPO in earnest after the new business settles in, industry watchers said. (Reporting by Jeong-wan Lee)