Elon Musk has helped a South Korean business family achieve billionaire status, adding them to the exclusive group of the world’s ultra-rich individuals. L&F Co., located in Dalseo-gu, Daegu, produces high-nickel cathodes that are crucial in the production of electric vehicle batteries, and their shares have increased by 82% this year due to winning a $2.9 billion order from Tesla.
The listed holdings of L&F Co. Chairperson Hur Jae-hong and his family are now worth more than $800 million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
While Tesla has been using L&F’s cathodes for some time, they were previously supplied through LG Energy Solution Ltd. However, this is the first time that L&F has become Tesla’s direct client. According to Bloomberg, companies that provide components or materials used in electric car production, like L&F, have seen their shares soar in recent years, generating massive amounts of wealth for their owners.
For L&F, the Tesla deal could be transformative as it has thus far depended on LG Energy Solution for most of its revenue. L&F began developing cathode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in 2005, and soon, they became its most significant business, generating sales that increased ten-fold to 3.8 trillion won ($2.9 billion) from 2020 to 2022, with LG Energy Solution accounting for up to 80% of last year’s revenue.
L&F may see its dependence on LG Energy Solution drop to 50% of its total revenue by 2025, with the manufacturers, like Tesla, expected to contribute 30% of sales, according to a research report by Shinyoung Securities Co. analyst Jin-soo Park cited by Bloomberg.
Post Your Comments