Semiconductor and display material company JI Tech will list on the Korean bourse next month.
It going public is expected to be a big payday for venture capital UTC Investment.
JI Tech, which will list on KOSDAQ on November 4, is valued at 131.1 billion won.
The company specializes in precursors used to form the thin film on wafers during semiconductor production.
It also sells photomask cases used in display production, OLED materials, and neon gases used in wafer fabrication.
JI Tech’s annual sales increased by 20% in the past three years. Last year it was 20.5 billion won and it recorded 31.5 billion won during the first half of this year. Semiconductor products account for slightly over half of its sales with most of the rest coming from display products.
UTC Investment spend 1.5 billion won to secure 12% in equity of JI Tech in November 2016. The material firm was valued at 12.5 billion won at the time and was considering a merger offer from a South Korean semiconductor company at the time. UTC Investment advisor Jonghyo Yoon led the deal.
Sources said the firm helped JI Tech strengthen its ties with customer UP Chemical.
It also helped the material firm win deals for its mask boxes with semiconductor mask firms PKL as well as South Korea’s S&S Tech.
UTC Investment also helped JI Tech secure precursor technology from a Japanese precursor firm. This allowed JI Tech to add Hf to its existing Zr offering. Both materials are high-k material __ or highly conductive to electricity __ and are used in the production of 10nm class DRAMs. Hf is especially in high demand.
