POSCO Int’l completes merger with energy affiliate

South Korea’s POSCO International Co. completed a merger with its affiliate POSCO Energy Co. on Jan. 1, which the trading company said would further drive its push into the energy, food and eco-friendly businesses.

After the merger, the combined entity will beef up trading of rechargeable batteries and of food and foodstuffs, a company official said on Jan. 2.

This year, it is seeking to venture into the mobility parts and biotechnology trading markets.

The merger will catapult POSCO International to the position of the 11th-largest company in South Korea by revenue.

The combined enterprise is expected to post an operating profit of 1 trillion won ($785 million) or more on sales of 40 trillion won a year. Its debt-to-equity ratio will come in at 160%, down from POSCO International’s pre-merger figure of 200%.

Jeong Tak, vice chairman of POSCO Group, is set to take over as POSCO International’s CEO, pending shareholder approval at a general meeting in March.

He started his career at Daewoo International Corp., the now-defunct trading arm of Daewoo Group and then led the company’s Malaysian operations. Since POSCO’s purchase of the former Daewoo Group unit in 2010, he has been working for the steel giant.

As a core unit of the POSCO Group, the trading and resources developing company will strengthen its business and competitiveness through bold investments, Jeong said in a speech for POSCO International on Monday.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.