NICE Holdings Seeks Funding for ITM Semiconductor, H PE in Talks

What happened

According to information obtained on Nov. 13, NICE Holdings is seeking to turn around ITM Semiconductor through restructuring and external financing, and is in talks with H Private Equity over potential investment options including a stake sale and a third-party allotment of new shares; one likely scenario would see the investor become the largest shareholder by subscribing to newly issued shares. ITM Semiconductor has expanded its fundraising flexibility: at a recent extraordinary shareholders' meeting it approved removing the 20% cap on new shares issued through third-party allotments for management purposes, and raised the ceiling for convertible bond (CB) issuance from 100 billion won to 150 billion won. The financing amount has yet to be determined, with industry sources saying around 100 billion won is being discussed; ITM Semiconductor would raise funds from H Private Equity through a rights offering or CB issuance. As of the first half of this year, NICE Holdings was ITM Semiconductor's largest shareholder with a 32.54% stake, exceeding 50% combined with affiliates and key executives. On Nov. 9, CEO Na Hyuk-hwi was replaced by Cho Dae-min, and the company is also expected to reduce its workforce and scale back businesses other than electronic cigarettes and battery protection circuits; an industry official said H Private Equity wanted ITM Semiconductor to undertake restructuring before making an investment. NICE Holdings said it is reviewing various options but nothing has been decided, and that it is not selling ITM Semiconductor. On results, the company recorded operating losses of 16.1 billion won in 2022 and 14.8 billion won in 2023, returned to profitability in 2024, then posted a loss of 7 billion won last year; supplying battery protection circuits using EMC technology for the tentatively named Galaxy S26, securing Samsung Electronics as a new customer, is seen as a positive development.

Impact and signal

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Source and time

Source: The Elec · 11/13/2026 · View original source