This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:37 p.m. on Jun. 4, 2026.
SK Telecom's sale of a minority equity stake in the Ulsan artificial intelligence (AI) data center is in the final stage of talks, aiming to sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) at the end of this month. If it goes as scheduled, the transaction is expected to enter the closing phase before next month.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 4th, SK Telecom and the preferred bidder consortium of KKR, IMM Investment, and Stonebridge Capital are continuing to negotiate detailed terms with a goal of signing the SPA at the end of this month. Due diligence is underway, and the parties plan to proceed with signing the contract as soon as the working-level tasks are completed. An IB industry official said, "Negotiations are proceeding smoothly, and the remaining work mainly requires time."
The transaction is known to involve selling up to 49% equity in the Ulsan AI data center for the mid-2 trillion won range. KKR will acquire 29% equity, and the IMM Investment–Stonebridge consortium will buy the remainder in a three-party joint acquisition structure.
Initially, a single-buyer structure with KKR was reviewed, but SK Group reportedly decided to accommodate a consortium at the same time. The judgment was that including domestic investors would be preferable to having a core national AI infrastructure data center acquired solely by foreign capital.
The IMM Investment–Stonebridge consortium has reportedly decided to raise acquisition financing from Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Investment & Securities. The consortium has secured letters of commitment (LOC) from Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Investment & Securities and is coordinating transaction terms. The acquisition financing under discussion is about 600 billion won. KKR, by contrast, is expected to fund internally based on the capital of its blind funds and other resources.
The Ulsan AI data center is a mega-scale facility that SK Group is building with AWS on a 36,000㎡ site—about the size of 11 soccer fields—inside the Ulsan Mipo National Industrial Complex. The project targets completion of 100 MW capacity by 2029 and is set to expand into Northeast Asia's largest AI infrastructure hub. SK Telecom plans to use the funds secured through this equity sale as resources for AI investment.