Battery material maker EcoPro Materials eyes $2.3 billion IPO

EcoPro Materials Co., a unit of South Korea’s battery materials group EcoPro Group, is looking to list its shares on the country’s main bourse by the end of the third quarter.

According to industry sources on Tuesday, the company plans to file a request for a preliminary review of its initial public offering plan with the Korea Exchange next month.

With an estimated enterprise value of 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion), EcoPro Materials is regarded as one of the Korean IPO market’s three biggest firms set to go public in the first half. The other two – LG CNS Co. and Seoul Guarantee Insurance – are also seeking to list their shares on the Kospi main bourse.

Mirae Asset Securities and NH Investment & Securities will manage EcoPro Materials’ IPO.

Industry officials expect EcoPro Material to receive the go-ahead before June and complete its listing by the end of September at the latest.

EcoPro Materials, which makes lithium cell core materials called precursors, is a joint venture between EcoPro Co. and China’s cathode precursor manufacturer GEM.

ECOPRO GROUP’S FIRST KOSPI LISTING

A precursor is a material created by mixing nickel, cobalt and manganese, and is added to lithium to make cathode, the positive end of a lithium-ion battery.

Headquartered in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, EcoPro Materials supplies high-nickel precursors to Samsung SDI Co. and other battery makers.

The company posted 15.4 billion won in net profit and 17.6 billion won in operating profit on sales of 342.9 billion won in 2021.

If the IPO plan goes through as scheduled, it would mark the first share listing by an EcoPro Group affiliate on the main exchange.

Three of the group’s subsidiaries – EcoPro, EcoPro BM Co. and EcoPro HN Co. – are listed on the junior Kosdaq market.

EcoPro Materials plans to use proceeds from the IPO to expand its precursor factories.

The company is currently building a high-nickel precursor plant with an annual production capacity of 24,000 tons in an industrial complex near Pohang.

It aims to expand its entire precursor production capacity to 200,000 tons by 2026.

Write to Ye-Jin Jun at ace@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.