Lucky Core signs agreement to acquire 75pc stake in Lotchem

KARACHI: Lucky Core Industries Limited (LCI) has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire 75.01 percent issued and paid-up capital of Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM).

The deal was announced by both LCI and Lotte Chemical through separate statements to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The company secretary of LCI in a statement to PSX on Friday informed, “We are pleased to communicate that Lucky Core Industries Limited has signed a share purchase agreement with Lotte Chemical Corporation for acquisition of 1,135,860,105 ordinary shares of Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LCPL), constituting approximately 75.01 percent of the issue and pai-up capita of LCPL.”

Completion of the transaction was subject to the terms of the share purchase agreement including the various public offer and completion conditions stated therein, receipt of requisite approvals including clearance from the Competition Commission of Pakistan, and completion of other closing formalities, it added.

Lucky Core Industries, previously ICI Pakistan Ltd., a company held by Lucky Cement, announced in July last year its intention to acquire approximately 75.01 percent shares of Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited, a chemical company. It is a public listed company, with over 75 years of existence in Pakistan, and consists of five diverse businesses including soda ash, polyester, pharmaceutical, animal health and chemicals and agri-sciences.

The company is engaged in the nutrition business through NutriCo Morinaga (Private) Limited. Lucky Cement Limited owns 55 percent shareholding of LCI, while 12.01 percent of shares are held by Yunus Textile Mills Limited.

The major shareholder of Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited is Lotte Chemical Corporation (LCC), which holds over 1.135 billion shares, approximately 75.01 percent paid-up capital of it.

LCC is a Korean company, which was founded in 1976 and developed into a global general chemical company through international scales and stable profit structures. Korea’s representative chemical company has been growing into a ‘global top 7 chemical company’ by procuring product competitiveness based on its superior R&D capacities and expertise.

The company would use the funds from the sale to bolster its advanced materials segment and make further inroads into sustainable chemical products, while upgrading the existing petrochemical products used as feedstock for plastics, according to a Korean news agency.

The sale of the Pakistani unit means that LCC will no longer engage in the PTA production. It shut down the domestic PTA production line in Ulsan, 307 kilometers southeast, in 2020.

Lotte Chemical witnessed a trade of 5.393 million shares on Friday that decreased by Rs1.36 per share to Rs25.37 per share.