KPS Secures 32 Billion KRW Funding... "Investment in Next-Generation OLED Equipment and Anti-Cancer Pipeline"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] KPS has successfully raised an additional 32 billion KRW through the issuance of convertible bonds (CB). This is expected to accelerate investment in next-generation OLED (organic light-emitting diode) core equipment development and the oncology pipeline of its bio business division.

On the 13th, KPS announced that it issued privately placed CBs (with 0% coupon and maturity interest rates) to raise 27 billion KRW for acquiring securities of other companies and 5 billion KRW for operating funds. The bonds mature on August 13, 2026, with a conversion price of 16,328 KRW per share. Conversion requests can be made starting August 13, 2022.

CB investors include E&Investment (K-Bio Global Healthcare Private Equity Fund), Paratus Investment (Paratus Innovation Growth M&A Private Equity Fund), Korea Investment Partners (Korea Investment Bio Global Fund), Kiwoom Asset Management, Eugene Investment & Securities, and C-Square Asset Management.

Including this funding, KPS has secured approximately 62 billion KRW in cash equivalents. According to the quarterly report at the end of Q1, the company’s cash equivalents exceeded 30 billion KRW.

Kim Hayong, KPS CEO, stated, "This is a proactive investment to cover development costs for the upcoming visible bio and OLED new businesses. Especially, the bio business, which has been prepared for the past one and a half years, is about to enter its main track through subsidiaries Algok Bio and BigThink Therapeutics."

He added, "KPS will fully support its subsidiaries’ bio business while also initiating the development of the first 8th-generation OLED ultra-precision process equipment based on mother glass standards."

Last November, KPS established Algok Bio Inc. in the United States for global new drug development. BigThink (with a 45.5% stake) is conducting exploratory clinical trials in the U.S. for ‘Ocefree,’ the nation’s first digital therapeutic for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and is anticipating product approval for ‘Nerlynx®,’ an extended therapy for early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer patients.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.