Hanmi Semiconductor (042700.KQ), the world's leading supplier of thermal compression bonding equipment for high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, said Wednesday that Chairman Kwak Dong-shin will acquire an additional 3 billion won ($2.1 million) worth of treasury shares using personal funds. Kwak plans to purchase the shares through on-market transactions by July 27.
The acquisition will bring Kwak's cumulative stock holdings to 56.5 billion won in value, raising his stake to 33.57%.
Hanmi Semiconductor said the decision goes beyond simple stake accumulation, aiming to publicly underscore the company's competitiveness in the HBM equipment market. The company holds a 71.2% global market share in thermal compression (TC) bonder equipment used in HBM manufacturing, ranking first worldwide. It is also set to supply the 'TC Bonder 4' for HBM4 production, which is slated for mass production this year.
"As AI semiconductor packaging demand is rapidly expanding in the global market, we expect annual revenue this year to grow more than 40% compared to last year," Kwak said. "As a manager and the largest shareholder, I believe in the company's intrinsic value and want to share the fruits of long-term growth together with shareholders."
Kwak also said he has applied to his own management the principle emphasized by Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's lifelong partner and investor: "Buy wonderful businesses at fair prices and hold them for a long time." Kwak is known to have been deeply inspired by Munger's philosophy of compound returns and long-term investing. The company said this latest treasury share acquisition is a continuation of that management philosophy.
Kwak joined Hanmi Semiconductor in 1998 and has been with the company for 28 years. He was appointed CEO in 2007 and received a total of 55 billion won in gifted shares from the late founder Kwak No-kwon in 2007 and 2008. Hanmi Semiconductor's market capitalization has grown from 170 billion won in 2008 to over 30 trillion won ($21.3 billion) earlier this month. Kwak was ranked ninth on Forbes' list of Korea's richest individuals this year.
