JX Nippon Mining unit to sell South Korean smelter stake for $727 mln (updated)

LS

19/05/2022 09:30

(Adds detail)
    TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) - JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corp, a
unit of Japan's oil and metals giant Eneos Holdings  5020.T ,
said on Thursday its unit will sell its entire stake in South
Korea's copper smelter LS-Nikko Copper to its partner LS Corp
 006260.KS  for 930 billion won ($727 million).
    The exit comes as the Japanese company faces weakening
margins from smelting amid competition with larger Chinese
rivals.
    The sale is to concentrate management resources on growth
areas, such as advanced materials used in chips and smartphones,
a JX spokesperson said. 
    Under the deal, JX unit Japan Korea Joint Smelting will sell
its 49.9% stake to LS Corp, which holds the remaining stake in
the smelter.
    JX owns 80% of Japan Korea Joint Smelting while Mitsui
Mining and Smelting Co Ltd  5706.T  and Marubeni Corp  8002.T 
each hold 10%.
    For Eneos, the deal has little impact on group earnings and
has been factored into its profit forecast for the year to March
2023, it said in a separate statement.
    ($1 = 1,278.6700 won)

 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Toby Chopra and Jason
Neely)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))