LG Corp., South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, announced that it had officially launched the new spinoff holding company LX Holdings. Following the business commencement, industry officials expect LX Holdings to become South Korea’s 50th largest conglomerate. During an inaugural meeting, the newly established LG Corp. spinoff named Koo Bon-Joon as its first chairman and CEO.
LG Corp. follows a long tradition wherein the group chief’s eldest child becomes heir to the conglomerate’s management power. Then, the chief’s brothers would establish their spinoff business units. Moreover, Koo Bon-Joon, the late LG Honorary Chairman Koo Cha-Kyung’s son, would lead LX Holdings in partnership with the former LG International CEO, Song Chi-Ho.
Koo also assured the company’s personnel that the spinoff would obtain a lead spot in the domestic and international markets. Additionally, many officials from other LG affiliates would join LX Holdings. The company carefully selected executives with extensive experiences and capacity to extend its operations swiftly and efficiently.
LX Holdings’ Diverse Business Portfolio
In November 2020, LG decided to split up a few of its non-electronics units, entrusting them under Koo’s direction. In particular, the former LG units transferred to LX Holdings’ control include the resources trading firm LG International and the high-performance material manufacturer LG Hausys. The industrial chemical producer LG MMA and the semiconductor tech developer Silicon Works also joined the LG spinoff holding company. Lastly, LX Holdings incorporated the country’s biggest logistics company, Pantos Logistics, into its management.
Furthermore, industry estimates indicated that the five units’ combined assets value at around 8 trillion won ($7.14 billion). LX Holdings would reinvent the five companies under the ‘LX’ brand, with LG International’s corporate name changing into LX Global. The holding company also consists of a diverse portfolio ranging from building materials, chemicals, logistics, memory chips, and more.
LX Global would be a key LX Holdings operational unit since it holds a significant portion in revenue and assets. Recently, the company advanced thanks to the global trading industry’s recovery, hiking freight rates, and the surging raw material demand. Besides expanding trading operations, LX Global would invest in rechargeable battery materials, renewable energy technologies, and other business scopes.
Silicon Works, South Korea’s largest fabless firm, would also be a fundamental unit, further building up its chip-making business. Although it mainly undertakes display driver production, Silicon Works plans to venture into microcontrollers and SiC semiconductors.
