SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) -South Korea's LG Chem Ltd said on Wednesday it would sell its polariser businesses to Chinese firms for about 1.1 trillion won ($815.6 million) to help improve its competitiveness.
The South Korean petrochemicals maker plans to sell its polariser business to Shanjin Optoelectronics (Suzhou) for 270 billion won and its polariser material business to Hefei Xinmei Materials Technology for 830 billion won, it said in a regulatory filing.
LG Chem said the sale of the polariser businesses, which make optical filters used in electronic devices and autos, would help the firm better use its resources.
The company has previously said it is counting on its battery materials, sustainability business and innovative drugs to power its growth. Those businesses are expected to make up 57% of the company's total sales in 2030.
The business and assets Shanjin Optoelectronics and its wholly owned unit will buy from LG Chem are based in mainland China, South Korea and Vietnam, Ningbo Shanshan, the parent company of Shanjin Optoelectronics said on Wednesday.
In a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange, Ningbo Shanshan said it has initial plans to relocate the South Korea-based production lines in the acquisition package to China.
The package entails polariser products for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, and polariser products for liquid-crystal display (LCD) targeting automobiles and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) products, Ningbo Shanshan said.
LG Chem holds a 15% stake in Shanjin Optoelectronics, which Ningbo Shanshan intends to acquire by October, said the Chinese company.
Reuters could not immediately reach Hefei Xinmei Materials Technology for further details on the assets and businesses it is purchasing.
LG Chem said on Sunday it had entered a partnership with China's Huayou Group's subsidiary Youshan to build a joint electric vehicle battery material plant in Morocco in an effort to diversify its portfolio.
LG Chem also announced an investment plan with Huayou Cobalt to build a lithium conversion plant in Morocco, adding that it also planned to build two other facilities in Indonesia with Huayou Cobalt.
($1 = 1,348.6800 won)