
Asia-IO, Wise Road invest in HK semiconductor supplier
Private equity firms Asia-IO Capital and Wise Road Capital have acquired a 55.6% stake in a semiconductor packaging materials business from Hong Kong-listed ASM Pacific Technology.
They committed a combined $200 million to ASM Materials, according to a filing. ASM Pacific will retain a 44.4% holding and cease to declare the company as a subsidiary following completion of the transaction.
ASM Materials positions itself as a leading supplier globally for a range of lead frames that are used as surface mounts in the assembly of semiconductors. This segment is seen as rapidly consolidating and dependent on economies of scale.
ASM Materials’ pre-tax profit declined 25% year-on-year in 2019 to around HK$130 million ($17 million). Net assets during this period increased by 11% to about HK$1.1 billion. ASM Pacific reported that its materials-related revenue fell 18% during the year to $236 million, representing about 12% of group revenue, while profit fell 49% to about HK$58 million. The performance was attributed in part to increased copper and palladium prices.
Asia-IO, an affiliate of Korea’s ACE Equity Partners, was set up in 2015 by Denis Tse, formerly of Lockheed Martin Investment Management, and Michael Prahl, a professor at business school INSEAD. The Hong Kong-based firm focuses on cross-border Asia-related manufacturing technology buyouts and has a portfolio of eight companies, including Maxnerva, a smart factory systems integration carved out from Foxconn Technology Group.
Founded in 2016, Wise Road invests globally in high-tech companies enabling urbanization often in partnership with strategic players. Core areas of interest include smart cities, intelligent manufacturing, and renewable energy. The Beijing-based firm participated in the $2.7 billion carve-out of chip components maker Nexperia from NXP Semiconductors and formed a joint venture focused on chipsets for smart phones with Qualcomm.
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