TPG, Affinity-owned UTAC files for $350m US IPO

According to a regulatory filing, the company plans to list on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol UTAC. No pricing terms were disclosed. BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi and Credit Suisse are the underwriters on the deal.

UTAC was set up in 1997 and is a leading independent provider of assembly and test services for semiconductor chips with diversified end-uses including smartphones, tablets, computers, automotive and medical applications.

The company has production facilities in Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China. Its top clients include Panasonic, Broadcom, Texas Instruments, Maxim Integrated, and SanDisk. For the period ended 2014, the business reported sales of $860.3 million, an increase of 15% compared to sales of $748.4 million in 2013.

TPG and Affinity privatized UTAC through a $1.25 billion leveraged buyout in 2007, which included around $725 million in debt. It was one of the first covenant-lite deals seen in Asia, whereby the debt carries fewer covenants, limiting creditors' ability to act if they fear the company will be unable to keep to its repayment schedule.

The company's owners previously tried to take the company public via a $400 million IPO in 2011 but the plans were shelved due to lackluster demand and market volatility. It was previously reported in late 2012 that UTAC was seeking to refinance a portion of its debt through a $600 million bond issue.

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• Topics
• Exits
• Technology
• Southeast Asia
• Exit
• Affinity Equity Partners
• TPG Capital
• Technology
• Singapore