Rongdian Wason New Energy Technology (hereafter Rongdian), a Chinese copper foil manufacturer in which SK Group holds a second-largest stake, is making another attempt to list on the US stock market. Since SK Group has been pursuing a sale of its Rongdian stake since 2023, the group is expected to realize a gain of up to approximately 1 trillion won through this listing.
According to Reuters, Rongdian filed for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday. The underwriters for the offering are Cantor, Huatai Securities, CMBI, and US Tiger Securities. According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Rongdian plans to issue 141,589,386 common shares.
Rongdian is the world's largest supplier of copper foil for lithium-ion batteries, holding a 7.6% global market share as of last year. SK Group, through its subsidiary Golden Pearl EV Solution, invested 380 billion won in several rounds since 2019 to acquire a 29.5% stake in Rongdian, becoming the second-largest shareholder after Chinese investment firm D&R. At the time, Mirae Asset Global Investments' PE division co-invested with SK, and Noh & Partners separately invested 75 billion won.
Rongdian previously pursued a New York listing in 2023. However, it fell through at the last minute due to oversupply in the copper foil industry and slowing demand for electric vehicles. SK Group also pursued a stake sale but failed as potential buyers demanded steeper valuation discounts. At the time, SK reportedly valued Rongdian at 4 trillion to 5 trillion won and wanted to sell its stake for around 1.5 trillion won. That amount is up to five times the company's valuation at the time of the 2019 investment.
Rongdian's listing prospects currently look favorable. The company posted first-quarter revenue of 4.07 billion yuan (about 920 billion won) and net profit of 134.5 million yuan (about 30.4 billion won). In the same period last year, it recorded revenue of 1.91 billion yuan and a net loss of 68.4 million yuan.
Joseph Schuster, CEO of IPO advisory firm IPOX, told Reuters, "If this listing succeeds, it will pave the way for large Chinese companies to return to the US IPO market." He added, "The offering price has not been disclosed, but given that it is a leading supplier of a key battery material, it could receive a sufficiently strong response."
