The newly created company, which retained the name of Samsung SDI, will be reborn as a global materials and energy solution company by adding Cheil’s materials business to its battery business. (image: Samsung SDI)
SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) – A new company integrating two Samsung Group companies, Samsung SDI and Cheil Industries, has set sail on July 1. The two companies had decided to merge with each other in March this year in board of directors meetings.
The newly created company, which retained the name of Samsung SDI, will be reborn as a global materials and energy solution company by adding Cheil’s materials business to its battery business.
The new company will be headed by two presidents including Park Sang-jin (energy solution division) and Cho Nam-sung (materials division). Based on the last year’s financial results, the unified company will have sales revenue of 9,427.6 billion won and assets of 15,543.4 billion won, ranking third after Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display among the group’s electronic and chemical affiliates.
By leveraging the materials technology of Cheil Industries, the company will be able to strengthen its battery business capabilities. Even in the area of solar power generation, the company can supply materials and solutions by taking advantage of its capabilities in photovoltaic electrode materials and large-scale energy storage systems.
Samsung SDI aspires to reach sales revenue of 29 trillion won by 2020 by maximizing synergies between energy solution and materials.
The reason Samsung’s Global Strategy Group decided in late March this year to merge the two units was based on the judgment that it is of utmost importance for the whole group including Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics to improve the competitiveness in materials.
As part of this strategy, the group put together R&D centers of Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, and Samsung Fine Chemicals in the same campus in Suwon while moving the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology to the same location.
Written by Sean Chung (schung10@koreabizwire.com)
Business (Follow us @Biznews_Korea)
