Hanmi Semiconductor is investing 50 billion won in U.S. space company SpaceX.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on Wednesday, Hanmi Semiconductor said it decided to acquire 50 billion won worth of SpaceX shares and equity securities. The acquisition is scheduled for the 16th. The amount corresponds to 7.24% of Hanmi Semiconductor's equity capital of 690.3 billion won.
Hanmi Semiconductor explained the purpose of the investment as "an investment in the future growth potential of Elon Musk's Terafab and SpaceX, driven by the explosive demand for artificial intelligence (AI), satellite communications, aerospace, and advanced semiconductors."
Hanmi Semiconductor has continued to make strategic investments in companies with future growth technologies, achieving results along the way. In particular, this SpaceX investment is known to have been made on the basis of a longstanding relationship with Peter Thiel, a leading investor in Silicon Valley.
Crescendo Equity Partners, a global private equity fund backed by Peter Thiel, invested in Hanmi Semiconductor in 2013, forming a relationship with Kwak Dong-shin, chairman of Hanmi Semiconductor. Later, in 2021, Hanmi Semiconductor and Chairman Kwak jointly invested a total of 75 billion won in semiconductor equipment maker HPSP, generating cumulative investment returns of 479.5 billion won.
Meanwhile, SpaceX set its initial public offering (IPO) price at $135 per share on Tuesday. The company plans to raise $75 billion (about 114 trillion won) by offering a total of 555.56 million shares, which is expected to be the largest IPO in history, surpassing the record set by Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco in 2019. Based on the offering price, the company's valuation stands at $1.77 trillion, ranking among the top 10 global market capitalizations. SpaceX is scheduled to be listed on the Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas on the 12th.
