S.Korean EV battery maker SK On raises $1.5 billion in expansion push -report

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's SK On has raised about 2 trillion won ($1.51 billion) from private equity firms, pushing the electric vehicle (EV) battery maker's valuation to around 20 trillion won as it works to expand production abroad, local media reported on Thursday.

The battery unit of energy group SK Innovation Co Ltd has been in talks with a local private equity consortium which includes EastBridge Partners, Korea Investment Partners and Stella Investment, the Korea Economic Daily Newspaper said, citing unidentified investment banking sources.

SK On has been talking to global private equity firms, including Carlyle Group Inc and BlackRock Inc, but talks have stalled due to the market impact of war in Ukraine and interest rate hikes, the newspaper said.

SK On did not have a comment when contacted by Reuters. EastBridge Partners, Korea Investment Partners and Stella Investment did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Last month, SK On secured a $2 billion loan from three export credit agencies to finance its factory in Hungary.

SK On was spun out of SK Innovation last year. Its clients include Ford Motor Co, Hyundai Motor Co and Volkswagen AG, and it has production sites in the United States, South Korea, China, Hungary and Turkey.

($1 = 1,326.3400 won)

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Christopher Cushing)