Malaysian polysilicon maker to be sold to Korea's OCI for USD 200m

Japanese silicon maker Tokuyama Corp (TYO:4043) today announced it will sell its Malaysian unit to South Korean sector player OCI Company Ltd (KRX:010060) for about USD 200 million (EUR 178m).

Tokuyama Malaysia Sdn Bhd was established in 2009 to produce semiconductor- and solar-grade polycrystalline silicon. However, as a result of technological issues and unfavourable market conditions for solar-grade polysilicon, the unit has posted two huge impairment losses for its manufacturing plants.

The Japanese parent said it had made improvements to boost productivity levels and taken the decision to seek options for the future of the business, including a potential alliance with another company. Transferring the business to OCI, which is also involved in the downstream solar power segment in addition to its polysilicon operations, “will be the best choice” for all sides, Tokuyama said.

The business transfer plan includes the issuance of new shares to OCI in Korea in two tranches and the sale of Tokuyama’s remaining stake to the buyer. Details are available in the table.

Tokuyama Malaysia’s capital amounts to JPY 6.5 billion (USD 64.7m/EUR 57.7m) and its sales for the fiscal year through March 2016 reached JPY 8.8 billion.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.89)

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