Two South Korean electric-vehicle battery makers reached a last-minute settlement in a bitter U.S. trade dispute, sparing President Joe Biden from choosing between undermining intellectual property rights or dealing a politically toxic blow to his climate agenda.
SK Innovation Co. agreed to pay 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) to LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Chem Ltd., according to a statement from the two companies. The payment is divided equally in cash and royalties, they said.
Shares of SK Innovation surged as much as 18% in early Seoul, and was trading while LG Chem gained as much as 4%. The deal is a “major positive” for SK Innovation, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note to clients.