TeraView Ltd., a British developer of terahertz imaging inspection systems, has received preliminary approval to list in South Korea, moving a step closer to becoming the first UK company to debut on the country’s stock exchange.
TeraView Holdings Ltd. announced Wednesday it received the green light from the Korea Exchange, the nation’s sole stock market operator.
TeraView Holdings, founded last year to go public in Korea, controls TeraView as a subsidiary.
Earlier this year, it filed for preliminary listing on the Kosdaq market under Korea’s fast-track program for small, high-tech firms, which permits initial public offerings even for loss-making companies.
The Kosdaq, the country’s junior exchange, is home to hundreds of tech and biotech companies.
Samsung Securities Co. is underwriting the TeraView IPO.
The approval will advance the Cambridge-based firm’s plan to raise capital in a market that is home to its key customers and partners.
Korea hosts the world’s two largest memory chipmakers – Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. – as well as fast-growing battery and automotive sectors that TeraView hopes to target.
TeraView Chief Executive Don Arnone welcomed approval and vowed to accelerate its push to expand its footprint in Asia after its IPO in Korea.
CUSTOMERS IN SEMICONDUCTOR, BATTERY AND AUTO
Founded in 2001 as a spinoff from Toshiba Research Europe, TeraView develops inspection tools that use terahertz light to detect defects in semiconductors, electric-vehicle batteries and automobiles without damaging the product.
In April, it registered new patents in Korea and Taiwan for its technology used in testing advanced 2.5D and 3D semiconductor packaging.
Its largest shareholder is DAGE Precision Industries, the UK unit of Nasdaq-listed Nordson Corp., while its top executives and institutional investors hold the remaining stakes.
As an early backer, Samsung Venture Investment Corp., Samsung’s venture capital arm, invested $10 million in 2015, in anticipation of collaborations between TeraView and the Korean chip giant.
Late last year, it made another investment, valuing TeraView at about 140 billion won.
For its Korean listing, TeraView is targeting a valuation above 140 billion won, according to people familiar with the deal in April.
If successful, the IPO would make TeraView only the second foreign company to list on the Kosdaq since NeoImmuneTech Inc., a US-based biotech, went public in 2021.
TeraView reported 6.5 billion won in operating loss in the fiscal year ended April 2025, with revenue of 7.6 billion won, according to the KRX.
TerView Holdings, which is set to go public in Korea, reported an operating loss of 2.4 billion won on sales of 3.8 billion won since its inception in July 2024.
By Seok-Cheol Choi
dolsoi@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.
