SK Ocean Plant sold to D-Ocean Asset Management... Goseong County strongly objects

(Goseong, Gyeongsangnam-do = Yonhap News) Reporters Jeong-hoon Lee and Young-min Park = The owner of SK Ocean Plant, a company specializing in offshore wind power, shipbuilding, and plants located in Goseong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, changes from SK Group to an asset management company.

Ocean Asset Management announced on the 31st that it signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with SK Eco Plant, the parent company of SK Ocean Plant, to acquire shares in SK Ocean Plant.

After the market closed on this day, SK Ocean Plant announced that its largest shareholder, SK Eco Plant, would sell its entire stake (35.62%) to Ocean Asset Management for 410 billion won.

With this stake sale, Ocean Asset Management will become the largest shareholder of SK Ocean Plant.

Ocean Asset Management will acquire SK Ocean Plant by forming a consortium in which Ohsung Advanced Materials participated as a co-investor.

After signing a stock purchase agreement, Ocean Asset Management issued a press release containing a blueprint to develop SK Ocean Plant into a core offshore wind power and shipbuilding company by expanding 3 yards in Goseong.

It also announced its position to materialize various regional win-win programs with Goseong-gun, such as preferential recruitment of local talent, operation of job training programs such as the Shipbuilding Technology Academy, and preferential transactions with local partners.

SK Ocean Plant is the largest business site in Goseong-gun, directly employing more than 700 people, and is the operator of the Yangchon-Yongjeong Opportunity Development Zone in Donghae-myeon, which the government designated as 'Gyeongnam's first opportunity development zone' in June 2024 with the goal of becoming the world's largest offshore wind power substructure production base.

However, parent company SK Eco Plant has been pursuing the sale of shares, including selecting Ocean Asset Management as the preferred sale bidder in September of last year, three years after acquiring Samkang M&T in September 2022 and changing the company name to SK Ocean Plant.

Both Gyeongsangnam-do and Goseong-gun have strongly opposed the sale, saying it would have a serious negative impact on the local economy.

Goseong-gun issued a press release on this day and said, “We cannot acknowledge that the sale has been decided in a situation where a practical win-win plan for Goseong-gun and the local community has not been prepared.”

He continued, "For the stable investment and growth of SK Ocean Plant, we did not spare any administrative support, such as designating a special opportunity development zone, expanding industrial complex infrastructure, opening access roads, and installing transmission lines," and emphasized, "It is unacceptable that SK Ocean Plant is selling without implementing the promised investment plan of 1 trillion won and employment plan of 3,600 people."

He added, “The special opportunity development zone was designated so that companies and the region can grow together,” adding, “If the initially promised investment and employment are not implemented and even coexistence with the region is neglected, we will consider canceling the designation as Gyeongnam’s first opportunity development special zone.”