Shares of Kokusai Electric Corp (TYO:6525), a manufacturer of deposition systems used in semiconductor fabrication, declined significantly on Wednesday following an announcement by private equity firm KKR that it intends to divest its remaining stake in the company.
By 04:32 GMT, the Tokyo-listed stock had slid as much as 7% to 6,131.0 yen. The price move came after KKR said on Tuesday it would sell its entire 10.57% holding through securities firms, according to company statements and media reports.
KKR's planned disposal represents a complete exit from the semiconductor equipment maker about two-and-a-half years after Kokusai's blockbuster listing in Tokyo. The U.S. buyout firm had already pared back its position in the wake of Kokusai's October 2023 initial public offering.
Kokusai Electric produces deposition equipment that plays a role in semiconductor manufacturing. The company has been among those that benefited from pronounced investor interest in suppliers linked to artificial intelligence chip production. Its customer base includes major memory and logic chipmakers, and it competes with other firms in the space such as Tokyo Electron.
Market interest in Kokusai had strengthened over the past year, driven by expectations that growing investment in AI infrastructure would lift demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The share rally preceding this week's decline reflected those investor expectations.
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This report is limited to the factual details disclosed in company statements and media reports about KKR's plans and the market reaction in Kokusai Electric's stock price. It does not attempt to interpret longer-term strategic motivations or predict future trading beyond the information provided in those disclosures.