Intention to Float on AIM & Placing
SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- KCIC Plc is pleased to announce its intention to seek a quotation on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market and proposed placing of shares to raise up to US$100m. KCIC, which is an acronym for Korea Commercialisation Investment Corporation, was established by a management team with significant strategic investment expertise in Asia. KCIC is expected to be the first AIM traded company focused on making investments in small to medium sized South Korean growth companies.
( Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071008/276356-a )
( Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071008/276356-b )
Daniel Stewart & Company is acting as the Company's Nominated Adviser and Broker and marketing will commence shortly in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and the Middle East before concluding in the UK. First day dealings on AIM are expected in mid November.
The business
KCIC was established to identify and acquire stakes in high calibre, profitable South Korean technology companies. KCIC's management team will be represented on each of its investee companies' boards and will prepare each business for either a possible listing on an appropriate stock exchange or a trade sale with an exit time frame of one to three years, thus maintaining a stable flow of profit generation. The Company will also generate revenues from the provision of strategic management consulting to select invested SMEs in order to move investee companies towards their targeted exit. Unlike an investment fund, KCIC will not take any management or performance fees.
KCIC's management team has exceptionally strong contacts and support within the South Korean business and investment community and has identified a broad spectrum of profitable companies for potential investment to drive excellent deal flow. This strategy is reinforced by the South Korean government which has placed a strong emphasis on the development of new and emerging technologies by the nation's SMEs.
Veteran management team
KCIC's veteran management team is led by Thomas Yi, aged 44. Thomas has over 20 years experience operating and investing in Asia, including significant experience in making and realising investments in Korea. In 2001, Thomas was responsible for formulating the mid to long-term corporate strategy for KTB Network, the first and largest private equity company in Korea, listed on the Korean Stock Exchange. Previously, as head of business development at Mirae Corporation, Thomas was responsible for raising a US$60m private placement for Lycos Korea and was also one of the key members behind raising US$120m for Mirae Corporation. Since 2002, Thomas has been Director of the Australian and Asian operations of London Capital Advisers, a cross border transaction advisory business, building on his previous experience in corporate consulting, project management in mergers and acquisitions, and arranging private placements for corporate customers. Thomas also has experience in OFEX and AIM introductions in the UK.
Thomas is supported by four Non-Executive Directors:
Derick D.M. Sohn, aged 51, currently Senior Managing Director and Head of International Markets for Korea Technology Investment Corporation ("KTIC"), one of Korea's oldest venture capital firms. Based on his experience with Korean and foreign firms, Derick is known as a cross-boarder investment expert with in-depth experience of investment banking and corporate financing.
Jonathan Morley-Kirk, aged 46, whose career has been largely in Emerging Markets having held director positions with Midland Bank, Kidder Peabody, SG Warburg's and Brown Shipley. Currently, he is an active board member of five investment funds, managing in excess of US$1.75 billion.
Charles Brock, aged 41, with over sixteen years of experience investing in Asia ex-Japan. Charles is currently a consultant for Insinger de Beaufort, assisting the Corporate Finance Department in building China/ Asian Business.
Richard Hargreaves, aged 61, Richard is a former chairman of the British Venture Capital Association and has considerable experience as a non-executive director on the boards of both public and private companies.
Strategy and investments
KCIC has committed to invest up to 25% of the expected US$100m fund at admission in two fast growing profitable Korean technology companies. With each subsequent investee company, KCIC intends to take a significant shareholding, with target investments of between US$10m and US$15m and a maximum stake of 20% of fund Net Asset Value in any one investment.
KCIC's management team, as highlighted, will only invest in well managed, profitable and cash generative businesses with market leading technology underpinned by solid barriers to entry.
Its two initial intended investments are detailed below:
RFHIC Corporation: a manufacturer of a semi-conductor based product used in next-generation 3G, Wibro, Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks. RFHIC was founded in 1999 and has a track record of profitability and growth. With 130 employees, RFHIC has a blue chip customer base including Samsung, Alcatel, Motorola and Nokia. For the years ended 31 December 2005 and 2006 respectively, turnover was US$10.54m and US$20.15m, with Profit After Tax of US$1.05m and US$3.61m.
Sewoo Tech Co Limited: a manufacturer of mobile mini printers and components. Founded in 2002, Sewoo has built strong international sales distributions with end-users including McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, IBM and Harrods. Based in Seoul with 76 employees, for the years ended 31 December 2005 and 2006 respectively, Sewoo generated turnover of US$11.35m and US$16.64m, with Profit After Tax of US$2.07m and US$3.53m.
In addition, KCIC has already an identified pipeline of high quality potential opportunities in place and the Board believes that there is a growing demand in Korea for equity finance.
Thomas Yi, KCIC's CEO commented:
"South Korea is already the home to global quality brands such as Samsung and LG and I believe that this is an exceptional opportunity to invest in exciting new Korean technology SMEs. Our target companies are profitable, cash generative and provide shareholders with the benefits of medium term upside as we plan to exit each investment company within 3 years either via flotation or a trade sale. We have an excellent pool of quality companies to choose from further helped by the significant support provided to South Korean technology SMEs by the South Korean government.
KCIC is well positioned to capitalise on the significant investment opportunities that exist in Korea and I look forward to providing further news on our progress in due course."
