(LEAD) Shareholders approve SK Innovation-SK E&S merger

Shareholders of SK Innovation Co. and its energy affiliate SK E and S Co. on Tuesday approved a proposed merger of the two companies that would create an energy giant in South Korea. SK Innovation said 85.75 percent of its shareholders, who attended a shareholder meeting earlier in the day, voted in favor of the proposed merger. Separately, shareholders of SK E and S also approved it. The merged entity of SK Innovation and SK E and S will be officially launched in November with combined assets of 100 trillion won (US$75.3 billion). The proposed merger is part of SK Group's restructuring efforts to streamline its affiliates and support its loss-making battery unit, SK On Co., analysts said. The merger ratio of SK Innovation and SK E and S was set at 1 to 1.1917417. The National Pension Fund, a major shareholder of SK Innovation, said last week that it opposed the proposed merger, saying it could significantly undermine shareholder value. The fund is the second-largest shareholder of SK Innovation, with a 6.2 percent stake. SK Innovation's biggest shareholder is SK Inc. with a 36 percent stake. Source: Yonhap News Agency