TerraScience Sells 47.8 Billion KRW Stake in TerraTechnos to POSCO Holdings

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Terascience, a KOSDAQ-listed company, announced that it realized an investment gain five years after investing by selling its stake in Teratechnos, a developer of silicon anode materials technology, to POSCO Holdings, the holding company of POSCO.

Terascience disclosed on the 1st that it sold its entire stake in Teratechnos to POSCO Holdings for 47.8 billion KRW to raise funds for focused investment in future growth engines such as bio and blockchain.

Terascience made the investment, despite the risks of failure, starting in 2017 to enter the early stage of silicon anode material technology development for secondary batteries, aiming for mid- to long-term investment in the materials industry.

The company explained that after years of trial and error in developing silicon anode material technology for secondary batteries, it has entered a stage of visible results this year. However, it has faced difficulties in securing capable R&D personnel, and due to the nature of secondary batteries, large-scale preemptive investment is inevitable. Ultimately, considering the need for large-scale funding for securing production plants and equipment investment upon completion of technology development, as well as the necessity to secure many development personnel and capital for mass production, the company decided to sell after considering various factors.

Jongseok Lee, CEO of Terascience, said, “With strategic investments yielding successful results and securing substantial resources, and our core business entering a stable performance turnaround this year, we plan to review and focus investment on feasible future business opportunities.” He added, “In the second half of the year, we are proceeding with the domestic IPO listing process of OncoPep, a US bio company specializing in vaccine development, where Terascience is the largest shareholder. We also plan to focus on turning various market-noted momentum, such as the recent launch of a blockchain new business platform, into tangible results.”