This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:05 p.m. on Jul. 1, 2026.
SK ecoplant extended its negotiation period with the preferred bidder for the sale of subsidiary SK oceanplant. As the local elections ended, easing the political burden on a transaction that had been stalled by community backlash for a long time, and with the possibility rising that a strategic investor (SI) could rejoin, expectations are growing that the process will regain speed.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 1st, SK ecoplant and the preferred bidder, The Ocean Asset Management, agreed to extend the exclusive negotiation period by one month to Jul. 31. The sale target is a 36.98% management-control equity stake in SK oceanplant held by SK ecoplant, and the transaction size is discussed as the mid-to-high 400 billion won range.
Negotiations between SK ecoplant and the preferred bidder, The Ocean Asset Management, have continued since the second half of last year, but they made little headway as backlash from the local community in Goseong, South Gyeongsang, intensified. As it is a core establishment of Goseong County, voices continued to worry about the impact on employment and the local economy, and the possibility that the sale issue could escalate into a local political topic ahead of the local elections was also cited as a factor that slowed the talks.
The market sees that the political burden that constrained the negotiations has been substantially alleviated with the end of the local elections. Although concerns in the local community have not been completely resolved, the assessment is that the parties are out of a situation where it was hard to rush sale discussions ahead of the vote. Accordingly, there are expectations that final coordination over investor composition and the transaction structure, as well as talks between the seller and the buyer, will also accelerate.
Recently, changes have also been detected in the investor lineup. Osung Advanced Material, the SI in The Ocean Asset Management consortium, effectively dropped out of the SK oceanplant transaction after joining the bid to acquire K Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., but with the recent collapse of the K Shipbuilding sale, there is speculation that the likelihood of its return to the consortium has grown.
If Osung Advanced Material's return materializes, the industry expects the consortium's funding conditions to improve as well. The defection of some financial investors (FI) left uncertainty in the consortium composition as efforts to secure new investors continued, but if the key SI returns, the chances of closing the transaction are seen rising further.
The Ocean Asset Management is also reviewing various options to conclude the transaction. In consideration of local community backlash, it is said to have discussed the possibility of changing the transaction structure, including a plan to acquire a subsidiary first. At the same time, it is working in parallel to secure new investors and reorganize existing ones.
An industry official said, "This extension of the negotiation period appears to be a step to move the transaction forward again after the end of the local elections," adding, "As consultations with the local community continue, if the investor composition is finalized, the negotiations could progress quickly."