In September last year, SK Siltron, one of the world's five largest wafer manufacturers, decided to acquire the wafer division of the US chemical company DuPont for an investment of US $ 450 million (about 540 billion won). On March 2, the company stated that the acquisition had been completed on the 29th of last month.

It is reported that this is the first large-scale merger and acquisition (M & A) initiated by SK (Co., Ltd.) after the acquisition of former LG Siltron from LG (Co., Ltd.) in January 2017.

SK Siltron said: "SiC wafers are expected to experience high double-digit growth each year. Maximize the synergy between DuPont's R & D and production capabilities and the company's main business to ensure (SK) new Growth momentum. "

At the same time, SK Siltron also announced that it will continue to invest in related technologies after the acquisition.

Earlier, SK Siltron related persons pointed out: "This merger and acquisition aims at responding to the Korean government's policy of supporting 'autonomous material technology of enterprises' in order to improve the company's global competitiveness."

It is worth mentioning that, for a long time, South Korea has relied heavily on Japan in terms of semiconductor imports. Currently, only the United States DuPont, Japan's Showa Denko, Denso, Sumitomo, etc. can produce SiC wafers in batches. SK Siltron is the only company in Korea Wafer business.

However, since Japan implemented export controls on three key semiconductor materials last year, South Korean companies have been seeking alternative sources of supply. At the same time, it has become one of the goals of local manufacturers to get rid of Nissan with domestic production. It can be said that this merger and acquisition will greatly strengthen the wafer manufacturing capabilities of Korean domestic companies, and SK Siltron will also cover the comprehensive wafer market including electric vehicles and 5G semiconductors.