LG Chem Considers Selling Water Treatment Business Amid Long-Term Downturn in Petrochemical Business

LG Chem will sell its water treatment division, which mainly produces reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filters for industrial desalination, industry sources said on Monday.

The company has selected Glenwood Private Equity as the preferred bidder and is in talks for the deal, according to sources.

The division has annual sales of about 200 billion won (about 138.6 million U.S. dollars) and is expected to sell for about 1 trillion won.

LG Chem acquired NanoH2O of the United States in 2014 to enter the reverse osmosis membrane market and built a production facility at its Cheongju plant in South Korea. Currently, LG Chem's global market share ranks second only to Japan's Toray.

Although LG Chem has announced plans to double the size of its business within five years after the expansion of the Cheongju plant in 2023, the company has shifted its focus to strengthening its financial position amid the long-term downturn in its core petrochemical industry.

The company said no decision has been made on the negotiations.