4G LTE And WiMAX Chip Maker GCT Semiconductor Seeks Up To $100 Million In IPO

GCT Semiconductor (GCT), a Korean-American fabless designer and supplier of 4G wireless semiconductor solutions, this morning announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC for a proposed IPO of its common stock.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined, but according to the filing, the maximum aggregate offering price stands at $100 million.

GCT’s products are system-on-a-chip solutions that integrate radio frequency, baseband modem and digital signal processing functions onto a single die for the 4G LTE and WiMAX markets.

According to the filing, primary customers are device OEMs and original design manufacturers. GCT’s customers include LG Electronics, Quanta Computer, Kyocera Corporation, Infomark and YTL.

GCT investors include Samsung, SK Telecom, LG, NTT DoCoMo and National Semiconductor.

As of June 30, 2011, the company says it has shipped over 960,000 LTE semiconductors in support of the initial LTE deployments by AT&T, Verizon and Vodafone and over 4.7 million WiMAX semiconductors supporting operators worldwide.

GCT’s revenue was $33.1 million and $68.6 million for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2010 and 2011, respectively. GCT reports a net loss of $11.5 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011.

The company says approximately $12.1 million of the net proceeds from the offering would be used to pay off bank loans, and to use the rest for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Goldman, Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch are underwriting the IPO, with Cowen and Company and Oppenheimer & Co acting as co-managers for the offering.