● Winding up the acquisition procedure on Oct. 4··· Incumbent ISC CEO Kim Jeong-ryeol  and CEO Kim Jong-woo of SK Enpulse to jointly take the helm

●​ ISC to emerge as a pivotal block of the chip business··· vowing to post 3 trillion won in chip materials sales by 2027, reshuffling its product portfolio with high-value items

ISC, a global leader of chip test solutions, is making a fresh start as a subsidiary of SKC (CEO: Woncheol Park).

SKC fully paid the stock purchase price on October 4, wrapping up the acquisition of ISC. Together with incumbent CEO Kim Jeong-ryeol, CEO Kim Jong-woo of SK Enpulse will be appointed as a joint CEO. Signing a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with ISC’s biggest shareholder, Helios Private Equity Fund No.1 this July, SKC has worked on steps to close the deal, including submission of corporate consolidation report in Korea and elsewhere. SKC also participated in ISC’s recapitalization to raise its equity ratio to 45%, laying down groundwork for further growth.

Incorporated in 2001, ISC has built its portfolio around test sockets for testing the electrical properties of semiconductor chipsets. Test sockets are regarded as a key consumable in the downstream segment of chipmaking process. In particular, as leading chipmakers try to advance packaging technologies to improve the performance of chipsets, demand for test chips is rising rapidly, implying significant potential growth way forward. 

ISC succeeded in commercializing the world’s first silicone-_ base_d test sock in 2003, currently dominating the market with over 50% market share. ISC also excels in technological prowess, holding the industry record of more than 500 patents. Let alone silicone sockets, ISC possesses a variety of test solutions, including copper alloy-_ base_d pogo sockets that are conventional electrical property test sockets and interface boards. 

SKC aims to facilitate the growth of ISC as a key building block of its chip material business. In addition to becoming an investment destination by scaling up its existing business, ISC is expected to _ create_ synergy by forging technological collaboration with semiconductor substrate business and commercializing integrated solutions. Furthermore, SKC vows to work on additional M&A deals in the semiconductor sector to boost the semiconductor sales to 3 trillion won by 2027. 

Prior to the ISC deal, SKC sold off its basic semiconductor material business involving wet chemical and washing to local companies in China the previous month. SKC also invested in Chipletz in the United States in a bid to enhance its business foundation for cutting-edge chip packaging solutions and dedicated a semiconductor substrate production plant in the State of Georgia, putting in high gears its chip business migration to high-value materials/components.

“Acquiring ISC, SKC is embarking on a full-scale migration of semiconductor business portfolio to high-value products and solutions,” said an official at SKC. “To stimulate the growth of ISC, we will render active support, identifying new business opportunities and launching drastic investment initiatives.”