The buyer of the SK Inc. (034730) shares that SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won agreed to sell to fund a divorce settlement with Noh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi, has been identified as a fund affiliated with Michael Dell, founder of U.S.-based Dell Technologies. A fund managed by the Dell family will acquire the 544 billion won ($380 million) stake that SK had described only as going to a "strategic investor" when the contract was signed.
According to a large shareholding report filed by SK on the 13th, the counterparty to Chey's October 2 agreement to sell 972,493 common shares of SK Inc., or 1.34%, is DFO Public Investments, L.P. The fund, established in Delaware, is managed by DFO Management, which oversees the Dell family's assets. DFO Management traces its roots to MSD Capital, founded by Dell in 1998, and was reorganized into its current form at the end of 2022.
Chey signed a contract on the 2nd to sell a combined 1,653,924 SK Inc. shares for 944 billion won. Of those, 681,431 shares, or 0.94%, go to Korea Investment & Securities, while the remaining 972,493 shares, or 1.34%, were to be sold to a strategic investor for 544 billion won. SK did not disclose the identity of the strategic investor at the time. The company maintained its position on the 13th, saying it could not provide details on a private transaction between individuals.
Dell and SK Group intersect in the semiconductor business. Dell Technologies is a global information technology company that supplies artificial intelligence servers and data center infrastructure, and it maintains close business ties with SK hynix. In August, SK hynix took part in Dell Technologies Forum 2026 at COEX in Seoul, where it showcased sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) and delivered a keynote address as a representative partner.
That relationship has prompted speculation that the existing business ties between the two sides may have factored into SK's decision to describe DFO Public Investments as a "strategic investor." The actual acquirer, however, is not Dell Technologies but a separate investment fund managed by the Dell family's asset management arm. Because the fund's investment objective and any business link to Dell Technologies have not been confirmed, some observers suggest the personal relationship between Chey and Dell played a significant role.
Separately, Chey entered into a three-year price return swap, or PRS, contract tied to the stake being sold to Korea Investment & Securities. Under the arrangement, the difference between the actual disposal price of the shares and the agreed reference price is settled at maturity, leaving Chey to reap gains if the stock rises or absorb losses if it falls.
The Korea Corporate Governance Forum argued in a commentary on the 6th that an explanation is needed on whether the share sale was a transaction designed to circumvent the "3% rule," which will be strengthened at next year's shareholder meetings. The forum's position is that if the strategic investor and Korea Investment & Securities have agreed to exercise voting rights jointly with Chey, they should be disclosed as joint holders.