Shares of SK Telecom plunged 10.3% to $40.40 on Thursday after reports surfaced that the South Korean telecom giant is nearing a deal to sell up to a 49% stake in a major AI data center asset — a sharp reversal that wiped out most of a late-May rally that had pushed shares from $36.80 to $46.00 in just four trading days. SK Telecom Sells Nearly Half Its Crown-Jewel AI Data Center — Is This Smart Fundraising or a Surrender of Its Best Growth Asset?
Shares of SK Telecom cratered 10.3% to $40.40 on Thursday, erasing a sharp late-May rally, after reports that parent SK Group is finalizing the sale of up to a 49% stake in its flagship AI data center venture built with Amazon Web Services in Ulsan, South Korea. The deal could fetch as much as 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion), with major private equity firms including KKR among the interested bidders. For a company valued at roughly $11.5 billion, this is no small transaction — and the market's reaction suggests investors aren't sure whether to treat it as smart financial engineering or a dilution of the company's most compelling growth story.
The Data Center Is Central to SK Telecom's Entire AI Pivot. SK Telecom has committed to expanding its Ulsan facility to a massive 1 gigawatt of capacity, aiming to position South Korea as Asia's biggest AI hub.
The company expects the data center business alone to generate annual revenue of more than 1 trillion won by 2030. Selling 49% of this asset means handing nearly half the future economics to outside investors — which could cap upside just as AI computing demand hits an inflection point.
The Cash Is Needed — SK Group Is Stretched Thin. SK Group has already sold 49% stakes in two energy infrastructure subsidiaries for roughly 1.6 trillion won ($1.1 billion), directing proceeds toward AI investments.
The Ulsan data center alone was previously budgeted at 7 trillion won ($5.1 billion) — a staggering sum for a telecom company. Bringing in private equity partners is a practical way to fund a capital-intensive build without crippling the balance sheet.
The AI Story Isn't Just Data Centers. SK Telecom invested $100 million in AI startup Anthropic in 2023 at a $5 billion valuation; that stake is now worth an estimated ~$2 billion after Anthropic's valuation surged to roughly $380 billion.
Anthropic is reportedly targeting an IPO in the second half of 2026 , which could crystallize a windfall. This hidden asset provides a partial cushion even if the data center sale dilutes infrastructure returns.
Investors Fear Losing Control of the Best Part. The 10% drop is outsized for a deal in which SK retains 51% control. SK Telecom's AI business — spanning data centers, cloud, and enterprise solutions — posted 32.2% quarter-on-quarter growth at a time when the core telecom business was shrinking. Selling nearly half the fastest-growing segment at what may prove to be a low point in the AI infrastructure cycle is the real risk shareholders are pricing in today.