Private placement from Corning Research & Development Corporation of USD 20 million
Munich, October 2020 – Kloepfel Corporate Finance GmbH (KCF) advised VIA optronics AG as exclusive M&A advisor in the private placement by the strategic partner Corning Research & Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the US-listed Corning Incorporated.
Concurrently to the IPO of VIA optronics AG, the strategic partner is investing around USD 20 million. In return, Corning will receive approximately 1.4 million US Depositary Shares (ADS) at a discount of five percent at an issue price of USD 15. In total, the company now holds a stake of 6.2% in the provider of integrated display and sensor technology.
„Both parties can benefit from this extension of the strategic partnership between VIA and Corning in the future. Consequently, we are proud to have successfully supported our client VIA optronics as a team,” says Dr. Heiko Frank, managing director of Kloepfel Corporate Finance. The strategic partnership between VIA and Corning was already initiated in 2018 when VIA’s Optical Bonding- and Metal Mesh Touch- technology were combined with Corning’s ColdForm™ technology. This combination of technologies was launched into mass production and is used for applications such as curved displays in automotive interiors.
“The cooperation with Kloepfel Corporate Finance was very transparent and therefore extremely effective. We were able to rely absolutely on Dr. Heiko Frank and his team during the entire negotiation period and also during the challenging phase of our IPO,” says Dr. Jasmin Wörle, CMO of VIA optronics, who was responsible for the contract negotiations with Corning on the company side during the private placement.
The M&A boutique Kloepfel Corporate Finance exclusively advised the VIA optronics group as M&A advisor. KCF was responsible for the entire coordination of the private placement process including due diligence. In addition, KCF assisted in the preparation of the purchase agreement in order to successfully conclude the private placement.