This article was published on Signal, a capital markets compass, at 3:07 p.m. on June 26, 2026.
Crescendo Equity Partners, a private equity fund (PEF) operator, has launched a sale of its controlling stake in AlphaPlus, a display equipment maker. AlphaPlus had posted losses for several years but successfully turned a profit last year, putting its performance back on track. Buoyed by the turnaround, Crescendo is moving to recoup its investment about 10 years after the acquisition.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on Friday, Crescendo recently selected Samil PwC as the managing underwriter for the AlphaPlus sale and is in behind-the-scenes contact with potential buyers. The target of the sale is an 89.17% stake in AlphaPlus.
The expected sale price for AlphaPlus discussed in the market is in the 20 billion won range. This year, the company is projected to surpass 10 billion won in revenue and achieve earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the 3 billion won range. Next year, based on its order backlog, the company is expected to achieve revenue of 27 billion won and EBITDA of 11 billion won.
Founded in 2000, AlphaPlus is a display equipment maker whose flagship product is organic light-emitting diode (OLED) evaporation sources. Evaporation sources are used in the deposition process, which heats and evaporates organic materials to uniformly coat a light-emitting layer onto a substrate. Precise control of film thickness uniformity is considered its core technological capability.
AlphaPlus has experienced fluctuations in performance. In 2017, shortly after being acquired by Crescendo, it recorded revenue of 55.1 billion won, and in 2019, revenue of 51.9 billion won. Its operating margin at the time was around 50%. However, performance declined starting in 2020, and the company posted losses from 2022 through 2024. This was due to slowing capital expenditure as customers reduced their investment in sixth-generation OLED. Revenue fell to 3.2 billion won as of 2024. Last year, with new orders from a global customer, the company turned a profit with revenue of 10.9 billion won and operating profit of 3.1 billion won.
Its major customers are domestic and international display panel producers, including Samsung Display. AlphaPlus is moving away from sixth-generation OLED and expects new orders for eighth-generation OLED evaporation sources. Using physical vapor deposition technology, the company is pursuing diversification into new businesses beyond OLED displays, including extreme ultraviolet (EUV) blank masks used in semiconductor processes and next-generation solar power.
"As China's influence in the display market has grown, this is a situation that requires a more thorough examination of the company's technological barriers to entry and price competitiveness," an IB industry official said. "For a buyer, what matters is whether performance will grow as expected, and the key question is whether the company secures new orders for eighth-generation OLED this year."
