Lotte exits water treatment

South Korea’s Lotte Chemical is to sell its water treatment business to a subsidiary, Synopex Membrane. The business makes ultrafiltration-based membranes for domestic and industrial water treatment and water purification on 5,775 m2 of floor area in the National Water Industry Cluster in Daegu. Terms will not be disclosed and the deal should complete within July.

This has been described as part of a strategy of accelerating business restructuring with asset light strategy for Lotte, which has been facing rising losses of late. “The strategic divestment of the water treatment business is aimed at focusing our resources on the development and expansion of high-value-added speciality materials and new growth businesses,” the company said.

This follows multiple previous sales this year, including a 75.01% stake in Lotte Chemical Pakistan, a subsidiary making purified terephthalic acid production and sales in Pakistan; a 25% stake in PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia; and a 4.9% stake in Japanese company Resonac. These raised about $1.25 billion on top of nearly $500 million in sales in 2024.