SKC (011790) is putting more than 90 billion won into Absolics, its U.S. subsidiary, to secure the steady rollout of its glass substrate business.
SKC said in a regulatory filing on the 22nd that it will subscribe to an additional 92.1 billion won ($66 million) in Absolics' rights offering. That brings SKC's total subscription in the unit to about 373.1 billion won. The money comes from proceeds SKC raised through its own rights offering in the first half of this year.
By taking up all of the shares left unsubscribed in Absolics' rights offering, SKC will see its stake climb to 82.37% from 70.05%, tightening its grip as the largest shareholder.
The schedule for payment and acquisition of the shares has also been moved up by about two months, to Sept. 28 from Nov. 24, in what appears to be a push to accelerate the project.
"This additional investment is a decision to put in the funds needed for the successful commercialization of the glass substrate business at the right time and to further solidify the foundation for the project," an SKC official said.
SKC said in February, when it launched a 1.17 trillion won rights offering, that it would channel 590 billion won into the glass substrate business over the next three years. The first injection into Absolics follows that plan, and accounts for 63.2% of the total allocated amount. SKC said it will continue investing in line with the project's progress and milestones.
With about 400 billion won secured through the offering, Absolics will step up a two-track strategy of commercializing both embedded and non-embedded products at the same time.
For the embedded product, samples produced at the company's Georgia plant in the U.S. have cleared preliminary evaluation and entered reliability testing. The non-embedded product is being reviewed for supplier selection in the second half of this year, with a proof of concept slated to begin before year-end.
