South Korea’s largest renewable energy platform launched this week, valued at KRW2 trillion (USD1.3 billion). KKR and the SK Group announced the joint venture, which consolidates renewable energy businesses and assets from SK Innovation, SK ecoplant, and SK eternix.
The new entity will oversee a diversified portfolio spanning solar, offshore and onshore wind, and fuel cells. The platform covers all major forms of renewable energy generation except hydrogen.
Lee & Ko advised SK on the launch, with partners Kyungchun Kim and Ji Hyeong Park leading the team. Bae Kim & Lee acted for KKR, comprising partners Ho Kyung Chang, Jaeyong Jeong, Wonchul Nam, and senior foreign attorneys Daniel Joonwu Park and Eugene Hwang.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett also advised KKR, with co-head of the firm’s Asia offices Ian Ho and partners Brian Chisling, Peter Bang, Makiko Harunari, Drew Purcell, and Etienne Renaudeau.
For SK, Kim noted the scale and strategic importance of the deal. He said the firm advised on the entire transaction, from initial review through contract execution.
“The Lee & Ko team advised on the entire transaction, from the initial review stage through contract execution to the present phase. The firm provided legal counsel across all stages, including reviewing the initial transaction structure and associated legal issues, conducting legal due diligence, and advising on regulatory approvals. For the negotiation and contract drafting components, Lee & Ko worked jointly with Davis Polk,” Kim told Asia Business Law Journal.
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Kim said the merger control filings are being handled by the firm’s M&A and competition/antitrust teams.
“Given the scale of the transaction, merger control filings are required both domestically and internationally. Lee & Ko is currently managing these filings through close collaboration between its M&A and competition/antitrust teams,” he said.
“This transaction is very important, as it consolidates the renewable energy operations previously distributed across various SK Group affiliates, pairing them with global investment capital to launch South Korea’s largest renewable energy enterprise. The newly formed entity will be positioned to address future energy demands.”
Scale and Future Prospects
Despite the legal complexities, the platform’s operational capacity is significant. It currently has around 1.7GW of operating capacity. A development pipeline is expected to increase total capacity to 10GW.
This capacity is sufficient to power 100 large-scale, 100MW-class data centres simultaneously and continuously. KKR will hold management control of the platform in its initial phase. SK will participate as an equity investor and retain the option to pursue control rights in the future.
