This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:44 p.m. Oct. 30, 2025.
There are signs that SK Group, which is pushing to sell the management rights of SK Siltron, a semiconductor wafer specialist, has slowed its pace. It requested a consulting firm to reexamine SK Siltron's appropriate corporate value from scratch. Because Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, is known to have a strong attachment to Siltron, some analysts say the company could even reconsider whether to sell.
According to the investment banking industry, SK Inc. recently asked McKinsey & Company to reexamine SK Siltron's corporate value. SK Siltron is the world's third-largest producer in the global 12-inch wafer market.
Earlier, SK Inc. moved to sell SK Siltron as part of a broader reorganization of the group's business portfolio. The target for sale is the 70.6% management stake in SK Siltron held by SK Inc. The 29.4% held by the chairman was excluded from the sale. The chairman had also left open the possibility of selling his stake in case he lost the final appeal in his divorce suit with Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi, but that option disappeared after the Supreme Court issued a ruling favorable to the chairman.
The chairman is reportedly also opposed to selling the SK Siltron stake held by SK Inc. He believes the corporate valuations discussed with potential buyers fall short of his expectations.
The enterprise value (EV) of SK Siltron currently being discussed is in the high 4 trillion won range. After subtracting 3 trillion won in debt, the equity price is at the mid-1 trillion won to 2 trillion won level.
An investment banking industry source said, "I understand the chairman reacted that it would be a pity to sell SK Siltron at a time when people are saying a semiconductor supercycle is about to begin."
The chairman is also known to have a strong attachment to SK Siltron's silicon carbide (SiC) plant in Bay City, Michigan, U.S. SK Siltron's U.S. unit, SK Siltron CSS, completed the Bay City plant in 2022, and an expansion project has been under way since. Last year it received a conditional loan of $544 million (about 770 billion won) from the U.S. government and plans to raise more funds to dramatically expand its production capacity (CAPA).