SK Ecoplant, a unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, announced it had sold its stake in US lithium ion battery recycling company Ascend Elements to raise capital, as part of a broader business reorganisation by the parent company.
SK Ecoplant, a construction engineering and waste management company, was understood to have sold all of its 9.22m shares, equivalent to a 7.7% stake in the US company, to Seoul based SKS Private Equity for KRW131.6bn (US$98m).
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SK Ecoplant built up its stake in Ascend Elements between 2022 and 2023 at a cost of US$61m, to become the largest shareholder with the sale generating a 60% capital gain for the company.
Ascend Elements was established in 2015 as a recycling specialist, using advanced particle engineering technology to transform used lithium ion batteries and scrap into high quality precursors and cathode materials for use in new electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
