Taiwan chip tester Hermes prices IPO at US$65.1, auction bids hit 90% premium
What's the deal? Hermes Testing SystemsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a semiconductor wafer testing supplier, completed its initial public offering on the Taipei Exchange this month. Shares will start trading on the over-the-counter market on September 22, moving the company off Taiwan's emerging stock board.
By the numbers: The offering priced at US$65.1 per share. During the competitive auction, the weighted average winning bid reached US$123.7 — a premium of nearly 90% over the issue price, high by recent Taiwan IPO standards.
Why now? Global foundries are accelerating investment in advanced nodes, raising demand for precision testing. Tight supply in the testing chain has become a bottleneck, and Hermes moved to a broader capital market to fund capacity expansion and research.
What's the endgame? Hermes has long served domestic and overseas wafer foundries, building out self-developed testing platforms and automated solutions. The listing gives it a capital base to push into high-density, low-power advanced-process testing.
The signal: The semiconductor industry is the core of Taiwan's economy, and the auction result reflects investor appetite for a less cyclical corner of it. Testing revenue is relatively stable versus manufacturing or packaging, and a strong debut could draw attention to other testing-focused firms.
Read more: thetaiwantimes.com
Image credit: IBM Research
