YMT Acquires Kensco, a Chemical Specialty Company... "Expecting Accelerated Growth Through Synergy"

Corporate acquisition contract ceremony. (From left) Kensco CEO Jeong Jaewon, YMT CEO Jeon Seongwook. Provided by YMT.

YMT, a specialized company in chemicals and materials for printed circuit boards, announced on the 7th that it has signed a contract to sequentially acquire shares of the chemical materials manufacturer Kensco by investing a total of 6 billion KRW.

Kensco, established in 1998, counts Isu Petasys, BH Flex, and SI Flex among its major clients. Kensco has grown by domesticating chemicals used in printed circuit board processes. Its main products include CZ etchants (for wafer manufacturing processes), alkaline etchants, various pretreatment chemicals, and strippers. As of 2023, Kensco achieved sales of 4.86 billion KRW and an operating profit of 590 million KRW. The company is engaged in continuous research and development through industry-academic cooperation with Kyungpook National University in the Daegu region.

Last December, YMT entered the comprehensive semiconductor company chemical materials market through collaboration with the global chemical company DuPont. Through the acquisition of Kensco, YMT plans to expand its sales to comprehensive semiconductor companies.

Jung Jaewon, CEO of Kensco, stated, “Kensco’s highest sales reached 6.67 billion KRW, with an operating profit margin exceeding 10%. We believe this M&A will contribute to the growth of YMT’s consolidated profit margin.” He added, “Since the products each company manufactures do not overlap, we expect growth through synergy from this acquisition.”

A YMT representative said, “YMT needed this Kensco share acquisition as part of a strategic direction to expand its business area from mainly FPCB (Flexible Printed Circuit Board) to high multilayer MLB/PKG. We also expect synergy between the two companies in terms of close customer response in the southern Han River area.” The representative continued, “With the confirmed relocation of our headquarters to Songdo in June 2025, alternative investments are necessary due to the relocation of the existing Plant 1 production site. Therefore, securing Kensco’s shares is considered an optimized solution in terms of cost and efficiency (minimizing downtime). After the acquisition, YMT’s chemical product lineup can also be expanded to Kensco’s existing customers, so semiconductor packaging sales are expected to increase smoothly.”