Hanwha Investment Securities said on Jan. 7 it has completed advisory work on an acquisition of a stake in an overseas nickel smelter.

The transaction involves Sphere Corporation, which supplies specialty alloys to the aerospace industry including U.S. company SpaceX, buying 10 percent of Indonesia’s ENC (Excelsior Nickel Cobalt) nickel smelting project for a total of $240 million. Hanwha Investment Securities designed a structure to raise $210 million of the amount by linking it with global investors.

The ENC nickel smelting project is based on a large nickel smelter in Indonesia. The stake purchase is being viewed as a significant case in which a South Korean company simultaneously secured a strategic equity investment related to global critical minerals and an off-take agreement, a long-term purchase contract.

Hanwha Investment Securities said it viewed the deal as a strategic investment to strengthen supply chain competitiveness in the aerospace industry. It carried out the advisory work by weighing not only financial feasibility but also the growth direction of South Korea’s aerospace industry, stabilising the supply of core materials and a private sector-led strategy to secure global resources.

Kim Kuksung, managing director at Hanwha Investment Securities’ investment banking division, said the deal proved its capability to design strategic investments directly linked to the competitiveness of South Korea’s space industry. He said it will continue to strengthen its role in acquisition advisory in global investments tied to national strategic industries.