Seoul: TeraView Ltd., a British developer of fault analysis and inspection tools for chips and batteries, is set to establish its Asia hub in South Korea following its initial public offering (IPO) in the local stock market, announced the company's CEO.
According to Yonhap News Agency, TeraView, founded in 2001 and based in Cambridge, will make its IPO debut on December 9, marking the first time a British firm lists on South Korea's stock market. Donald Arnone, the co-founder and chief executive officer of TeraView, emphasized the strategic importance of Asia to the company's operations during a press conference. "Much of TeraView's business is in Asia. We want Korea to be our Asian hub to support those businesses," Arnone stated.
TeraView plans to offer 5 million Korean Depository Receipts (KDR) with a price between 7,000 won (US$4.8) and 8,000 won. With this pricing, the company anticipates raising as much as 4 billion won. The proceeds from the IPO will be directed towards expanding operations in South Korea, with a goal to triple the local team annually over the next several years. The company also intends to establish a production facility and initiate collaborations with Korean universities in high-tech sectors, including bio-related fields.
Arnone also addressed market dynamics, stating, "There have been concerns in the past about the Korean market versus Hong Kong, New York, etc. We think that's changing. We are pretty confident that there's a lot more value being generated for the shareholders in the Korean market now than there was three or four years ago, and we see that continuing moving forward."
TeraView is known for developing inspection devices that utilize terahertz light technology to detect micro cracks and faults or to measure the thickness and density of layers in products like secondary batteries. Among its notable products is the EOTPR system, a tool for fault-detection and quality assurance in advanced semiconductor packaging, with AI chip giant Nvidia Corp. as one of its key clients.