Forest of Dean graphene manufacturer to sell South Korean assets

By Nicky Godding

11 March 2024

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Versarien, the Forest of Dean-based based advanced materials engineering group, is to sell its South Korean plant and equipment to MCK Tech Co Ltd.

MCK Tech will pay £604,000. The deal includes an exclusive licence agreement with MCK Tech for the use of five patents owned by Versarien, for additional fees.

The move is part of Versarien's turnaround strategy, which includes the disposal of non‐core businesses and assets. Two other Versarien group businesses, AAC Cyroma Limited and Total Carbide Limited, remain up for sale.

All monies raised will be used to fund the Group's corporate and working capital. Last March, Versarien's balance sheet noted the gross asset value of the Korean Plant was £844,151. Versarien Korea Limited, which operated the Korean Plant, made a loss after tax of £771,690 in the 18 months to 30 September 2022.

Versarien has granted an exclusive licence to MCK Tech, for an initial period of five years, to use five patents owned by the Company in their business in Korea. These five patent licences are in addition to 14 patents the company licences to Graphene Lab Co Ltd. MCK Tech will pay Versarien 4.5 per cent of the total sales revenue earned from products manufactured using the IP. If the sales revenue derived from the IP is less than £250,000 over the first two years of the Licence, the Licence will terminate and MCK Tech will pay Versarien £40,000 for use of the IP.

Dr Stephen Hodge, CEO of Versarien, said: "As previously outlined, Versarien's strategy is to be a manufacturing‐light business in the UK and licence our patents, know‐how and other intellectual property to key partners. In line with this strategy we are pleased that we have secured the sale of the Korean CVD graphene production equipment and licenced five patents to MCK Tech.

"MCK Tech is a well‐respected company that has developed graphene‐based sensors for healthcare. MCK's CEO, Dr Seungmin Cho, is one of the pioneers of CVD graphene in Korea, formerly working as Group Leader at Samsung Techwin and Hanwha Aerospace, prior to founding MCK Tech in 2017, a joint venture with the Centre for Advanced Meta‐Materials (CAMM) in Daejeon. We look forward to maintaining access to CVD graphene materials and supporting MCK Tech through collaborative efforts."

Dr Seungmin Cho, CEO of MCK Tech, added: "Acquiring the CVD graphene production equipment is a strategic move to vertically integrate CVD graphene manufacturing and developing applications. Securing the assets and licensing the IP will help us to become a more dependable materials supplier for our valued customers and enable us to shorten the application development cycle to provide new CVD graphene applications covering the IT, military, and healthcare industries. As we are acquiring the heritage of Samsung Techwin and Hanwha Aerospace, we are building on their pioneering work to consolidate our position in the graphene industry. Most of all, MCK Tech is pleased to establish a firm relationship with Versarien and is looking forward to collaborating in commercialising CVD graphene as well as graphene flakes in the years to come."

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.