A British tech company is going public - in South Korea. The CEO explains why.

By Jules Rimmer TeraView is blazing a trail for tech stocks by listing on the Kosdaq exchange. It's 600 times oversubscribed. Terahertz are electro-magnetic waves operating on a frequency between microwave and infra-red that have multiple applications, especially in semiconductor chips for AI. A British company is blazing a new trail for tech IPOs by making an initial public offering on Kosdaq, the South Korean exchange that closely resembles its U.S. counterpart, Nasdaq. TeraView, a pioneering tech play headquartered in Cambridge, England, will make its stock-market debut on Tuesday on this new destination for U.K. stocks and its chief executive officer, Dr. Don Arnone, gave an exclusive interview to MarketWatch to explain this unusual route taken to public markets. CEO Don Arnone It would appear that TeraView's choice of exchange has been rewarded as its offering of 40 billion Korean won (roughly $27 million), valuing the company at $240 million, was heavily oversubscribed by 600 times. TeraView has commercialized terahertz technology, a kind of radiation operating between microwaves and infrared. It has many applications, mostly as an ultra-precision inspection equipment in the manufacture of advanced semiconductor chips used in AI, as TeraView's customers are major suppliers of chips to the likes of Nvidia (NVDA). The potential market for terahertz technology is expanding rapidly The company was established in 2001 by Arnone and co-founder Michael Pepper, an academic at Cambridge University who was studying at a research center funded by Toshiba (TSHTY). It was Toshiba itself that originally encouraged Pepper and Arnone to spin out the technology, raise some venture capital and commercialize it, leading to the establishment of TeraView. Arnone pointed out that terahertz technology is also useful in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles, where it can save 30% in production costs and improve battery life expectancy. So why did TeraView management opt for Kosdaq? Arnone explained that the chief motivation for choosing this location was that most of its revenues, approximately 60%, are generated from its clients in the region, many of whom are Korean semiconductor companies. TeraView has been supplying equipment to Samsung Electronics (KR:005930) since 2011, for example. Samsung also is a major investor in TeraView, holding a 10% stake and planning to participate in the offering. There are institutional investors from Hong Kong, Singapore and the U.S. but also intense demand from Korean retail investors. "It made sense for TeraView to list where it can best access its customer base and where the investor pool understands and appreciates the application of TeraView's products in the semiconductor sector. Korean investors are more tech savvy," said Arnone, who was in Seoul at the time, preparing for the stock-market debut. Kosdaq also made itself a very appealing option owing to the lower costs associated with listing, roughly 20% cheaper than the Nasdaq and an initiative called the "Tech Assessment Track" which gives incentives and makes allowances for fast-growing companies that are not yet at scale. Kosdaq erected fewer barriers for entry and its legal process was simpler, he said. Arnone explained that TeraView decided quite early on in the process that listing in the U.K. on the London Stock Exchange Group's (UK:LSEG) Alternative Investment Market did not make sense, given lower liquidity and a less knowledgeable and appreciative investor pool. The board did give careful consideration to Nasdaq (NDAQ) before ultimately plumping for Korea. TeraView's hardly alone in rejecting the U.K. SoftBank decided to list Arm Holdings (ARM), another Cambridge-headquartered firm, in the U.S. rather than the U.K., hoping to access better liquidity and pricing. London dropped out of the top 20 markets for IPOs last year, overtaken by Mexico among others. There are no U.K. or European stocks listed on Kosdaq, but there are a few American companies, usually with strong Korean links, including biotech plays Psomagen KR:950200 and NeoImmune Tech KR:950220 and specialty materials manufacturer Kolon Industries (KR:120110). Arnone was keen to emphasize TeraView's American links. In its use of proceeds, TeraView plans to build up its facility in Delaware where it already has employees located. It has a large American investor, FCI, and Arnone does not discount the possibility of a dual listing in the U.S. at some point in the future. There haven't been so many foreign listings into Korea in recent years because of the so-called Korean discount, an unofficial markdown in the valuations attached to the Korean market by investors owing to its perceived corporate misgovernance and shoddy treatment of investors. All that appears to be changing now, though, with the government's introduction of its "value-up program" , an initiative to rectify those shortcomings that has been interpreted as wildly successful, especially given the 73% return delivered by the KOSPI index in 2025. The success of the Korean market may explain the enthusiasm for TeraView's IPO because its listing price of KRW 8000 ($5.44) implies a price-to-earnings ratio of around 40 times. That said, Arnone is very upbeat in his outlook for earnings, forecasting growth of the order book of at least 100% this year and next, on very profitable margins between 60% and 70% depending on the product. Arnone is optimistic about the preservation of these margins, pointing out TeraView's dominance in its field which he exemplifies by their position with intellectual property rights to 69 different systems whereas their competition, such as it is , may have just one or two. -Jules Rimmer This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 12-08-25 0739ET