GaN pioneer Transphorm goes public in reverse merger
Transphorm, one of the earliest developers of gallium nitride (GaN) technology, has raised $21.5m in funds as it went public through a reverse merger.
Rather than placing shares on the stock market, Transphorm was bought by Peninsula Acquisition, a public corporation in Delaware, US, as a wholly owned subsidiary. Peninsula then changed its name to Transphorm and will continue the historical business of the company, which started in 2007. Before this deal, it had raised a $237m from investors including Fujitsu, Yaskawa Electric and Google Ventures.
Previous members of Transphorm’s Board of Directors, David Kerko, Eiji Yatagawa, Brittany Bagley, Mario Rivas and Dr. Umesh Mishra will remain as directors of the Company.
“Our core capabilities in GaN epitaxy, design, process and circuit applications have positioned us well to innovate and address the power conversion systems needs of our customers,” said Dr. Primit Parikh, Co-founder and COO. “We have created an integrated device model and developed highly reliable, high performance GaN device technology, as well as amassed one of the largest intellectual property portfolios in the GaN power industry.”
Transphorm says it has begun to see meaningful customer adoption in power adapters/fast chargers, power supplies for data-centres, communication infrastructure and broad industrial applications. In addition, Transphorm continues to see heightened interest from automotive EV suppliers for chargers, converters and inverters.
The company sees a Total Available Market for GaN (GaN TAM) of approximately $3.1 billion in 2024. Factoring in GaN market adoption rates, market research firm Yole Développement predicts robust growth and that GaN power device revenues may approach $400 million by 2023.
“We are thrilled to announce this new equity financing which will support and accelerate our product development, manufacturing, and sales for our GaN power solutions,” said Mario Rivas, CEO. “We believe the success of this financing demonstrates confidence and support in Transphorm’s team, technology and products by both our current partners as well as our new investors.”
The financing was led by existing investors including an affiliate of private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with Marelli as a new strategic investor. However the shares issued in the merger and sold in the private placement have not been registered under the US Securities Act of 1933.
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