Lotte to buy Samsung's chemical assets for over 3t won: paper

[SEOUL] South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group will acquire Samsung Group's chemical businesses for more than 3 trillion won (US$2.63 billion), Korea Economic Daily reported on Thursday citing unnamed sources.

The newspaper said Lotte Group affiliate Lotte Chemical Corp will acquire various assets, including a 31 per cent stake in Samsung Fine Chemicals and 90 per cent of Samsung SDI Co Ltd's chemicals business.

Lotte Group, South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate, declined to comment, while Lotte Chemical and Samsung Group did not immediately comment. Samsung SDI and Samsung Fine Chemical could not be reached for comment.

Samsung Group has been exiting non-core businesses since last year, when the company said it would sell stakes in four affiliates in the defense and chemical sectors to Hanwha Group, another local conglomerate.

Other affiliates such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd are getting out of businesses with dim growth outlook, as well.

REUTERS