LG Energy Solution to sell US factory assets to Honda
SEOUL, Dec 24 (Reuters) – South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) said on Wednesday it is selling a factory building and assets in the U.S. state of Ohio to Honda Development and Manufacturing of America.
The planned $2.86 billion deal excludes land and equipment, and is meant to “improve joint venture operational efficiency”, LG Energy Solution (373220.KS), said in a regulatory filing.
The South Korean battery maker is not planning to dissolve the joint venture or reduce its stake, but plans to sell the assets to better operate the factory, a person familiar with the matter said, adding production is expected to begin next year.
A Honda spokesperson told Reuters,
Honda’s acquisition of the building assets has enabled Honda to commit to batteries over the long term, allowing us to flexibly respond to batteries, not only for electric vehicles, but also hybrid vehicles
The decision comes a week after LGES said Ford Motor (F.N) terminated an EV battery supply deal worth about 9.6 trillion won.
Ford said it would take a $19.5 billion writedown and scrap several electric-vehicle models, a dramatic example of the auto industry’s retreat from battery-powered models in response to the Trump administration’s policies and weakening EV demand.
Meanwhile, battery maker SK On ended its joint venture with Ford in the U.S. this month and other South Korean companies have repurposed production lines to produce batteries for energy storage systems for facilities such as data centers.
Reporting by Joyce Lee, Hyunjoo Jin, Heekyong Yang in Seoul and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo; Editing by Ed Davies and Alexander Smith
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LG Energy Solution to sell US factory assets to Honda, source
