Leaders Technology Investment Changes Major Shareholder to ARC Korea... "As a Specialized New Technology Finance Operator for Automobiles"

Leaders Technology Investment announced on the 22nd that it has signed a stock transfer agreement involving a change of the largest shareholder. ARC Korea (CEO Jeong Dae-hong) will acquire approximately 8,905,532 shares from the current largest shareholder, Canaria Bio M, at about 1,853 KRW per share. After the acquisition, the shareholding ratio will be approximately 17%.

ARC Korea is a domestic corporation jointly established with Hyundai Global Motors, which has grown through supplying Hyundai commercial vehicles to Vietnam, Pakistan, and other countries since 2011, as well as local assembly plant businesses, in partnership with ARC Automotive, the world's largest company based in the United States. ARC Automotive supplies inflators, a core component of automotive airbag parts, to most global automobile companies such as GM, BMW, Hyundai Motor Company, and Kia Motors.

ARC Korea received the only domestic airbag inflator technology transfer from ARC Automotive. The company is investing about 100 billion KRW in Gimcheon to build an airbag inflator manufacturing plant covering approximately 76,000m² (about 23,000 pyeong). Upon completion of the plant in 2024, airbag inflators will be supplied to domestic automobile companies such as Hyundai, Kia, and SsangYong. Additionally, discussions with India and others are underway to expand the airbag inflator manufacturing plant throughout Southeast Asia.

A representative of ARC Korea stated, “We acquired Leaders Technology Investment, which specializes in investing in venture or new technology companies. This is to maximize synergy between the automotive airbag parts business and next-generation electric vehicle battery (LFP) business that ARC Korea is promoting, through investment in domestic and overseas automotive high-tech parts companies via Leaders Technology Investment.”

He added, “Although Leaders Technology Investment is a new technology finance operator, its past investment areas were skewed towards listed company investments, which did not fully align with its establishment purpose. The new largest shareholder will focus on nurturing Leaders Technology Investment into a domestic automotive high-tech parts company.”