[Market Focus] HPSP Holds Firm Despite News of Sale Postponement

As of 9:20 a.m. on May 13, the share price of semiconductor equipment company HPSP on the KOSDAQ market was trading at 24,000 won, up 2.35% from the previous day's closing price. This rise appears to be due to the company's emphasis on its growth potential, despite the announcement by its largest shareholder, private equity fund Crescendo Equity Partners (hereafter Crescendo), that the sale of its stake would be postponed.

The previous day, HPSP disclosed that the fund registered by Crescendo, 'Presto No.6 Private Equity Investment Partnership,' had transferred its 32.8 million common shares (39.42%) to the special purpose company (SPC) 'HIT2025 Holdings LLC' as a contribution in kind, resulting in a change of the largest shareholder. However, only the largest shareholder on paper has changed, while Crescendo remains the actual owner. Regarding this, Crescendo explained, "We established the SPC for the purpose of facilitating investment recovery, such as recapitalization (Recap)." Through recapitalization, the limited partners (LPs) who invested when Crescendo acquired HPSP from Poongsan Group in 2017 are expected to recover part of their investment.

Since the beginning of this year, Crescendo has been seeking to sell HPSP, with several global private equity funds reportedly participating in the preliminary bidding. However, as uncertainties in the macroeconomy and the overall semiconductor industry increased?such as tariff risks stemming from the Trump administration?disagreements over the 'price' widened after HPSP's share price fell to a 52-week low of 22,000 won on April 9.

Meanwhile, Crescendo is expected to sell HPSP when the company continues to grow and its share price rises above the desired level. Crescendo stated, "Rather than rushing to sell quality assets in the current market environment, we plan to proceed carefully by providing interested buyers with sufficient time, so that we can successfully complete the exit when appropriate transaction conditions, including price, are met." The company also added, "HPSP is a unique and unrivaled semiconductor equipment company with outstanding technological capabilities. Backed by increased orders from memory customers driven by demand for HBM and AI, HPSP continues to expand its global customer base. With the commercialization of the new high-pressure oxidation (HPO) process imminent, HPSP is reaching a point where its superior value will once again be proven on a foundation of sustainable growth."