Graphy Acquires Control of Ray to Build Integrated Digital Dental Value Chain

Control of KOSDAQ-listed Ray has passed to Graphy, a company specializing in 3D-printing materials. After Ray Holdings and its largest shareholder, CEO Lee Sang-chul, carried out large off-market sales over 2 days, Graphy invested a total of 49.1 billion won to secure a 26.14% stake in Ray and become its new largest shareholder. The combination of Ray, which has strengths in dental digital imaging and diagnostic equipment, and Graphy, which commercialized the world’s first direct 3D-printed clear aligner, is introducing a new variable into the global digital dentistry market.

How the 49.1 billion-won acquisition of control unfolded

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, Ray Holdings sold 2,895,937 Ray shares off-market over 2 days, on the 15th and 16th. Following the sales, Ray Holdings’ stake fell to 2,040,235 shares (1.31%) from 4,357,639 shares (27.86%) based on its previous report. In effect, 26.55 percentage points were removed at once. Ray Holdings sold 1,209,709 shares on the 15th and 1,686,228 shares on the 16th, each at 12,204 won per share, pursuant to the stock purchase agreement it signed with Graphy on Aug. 10.

CEO Lee Sang-chul, who had been the largest shareholder, also sold 1,191,812 shares off-market during the same period, reducing his holdings to 1,560,400 shares (1.00%). The number of specially related parties also fell to 9 from 14 in the previous report. Kim Yo-han, Kim Jung-hwan, Lim Yong-gyu, Kim Gyu-hee and Yoon Su-bin were excluded after their special relationships ended following Ray Holdings’ sale of shares and their resignations as registered Ray executives. Ray Holdings said in its disclosure that it continues to exercise influence over the company, but added that it currently has no specific plans related to management control, such as appointing or dismissing directors.

Through the transaction, Graphy ultimately secured 4,087,749 Ray shares (26.14%), with total acquisition consideration reaching 49.15109 billion won. Ray Holdings had total assets of 38.533 billion won and total liabilities of 51.797 billion won for fiscal year 2025, leaving total equity at negative 13.264 billion won. Against this backdrop, the sale of the stake appears to have been an unavoidable choice to ease its financial burden.

Digital dental workflow connecting diagnosis to treatment

The core of the acquisition lies in the companies’ technological complementarity. Ray has global competitiveness in dental digital imaging and diagnostic equipment, including CBCT (cone-beam computed tomography), as well as design software. Graphy is a materials innovation company that was the first in the world to commercialize a shape-memory clear aligner and photocurable resin using direct 3D printing. Graphy’s technology eliminates manual processes essential to conventional clear aligner production, including model printing, thermoforming and trimming, and is considered to have reduced production time to less than 5 minutes per tray.

“This acquisition will serve as an opportunity to establish a new growth platform in the global digital dentistry market by combining Graphy’s 3D-printing and shape-memory materials technologies with Ray’s digital diagnostic equipment and software capabilities,” Graphy CEO Shim Woon-seop said. “We will connect the 2 companies’ global networks to create tangible business results.” Graphy’s 3D-printed shape-memory clear aligner has received U.S. FDA approval, and more than 100,000 clinical cases have been completed worldwide.

South Korea is a digital dentistry powerhouse that has produced globally recognized dental medical device companies, including Osstem Implant and Ray, and is a market that global investors and dental professionals are watching as a technology test bed. While the global clear aligner market, represented by companies such as Invisalign, remains centered on thermoforming, industry attention is focused on the fact that a complete in-house dental care solution combining diagnostic equipment with new direct 3D-printing materials has emerged in South Korea.

Stable integration management and global expansion strategy

The 2 companies will share overseas distribution networks they have each established in North America, Japan, Europe and the Middle East. Cross-selling is expected to begin in earnest, with Graphy’s 3D printers and materials supplied to overseas dental clinics that use Ray’s diagnostic equipment. The global dental 3D-printing market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 23.2% and reach approximately $5.05 billion (approximately 6.7 trillion won), raising interest in whether the companies’ synergies will translate into financial results.

Although control has passed to Graphy, Ray founder and CEO Lee Sang-chul will remain CEO for the next 5 years under the share purchase agreement. The arrangement is viewed as a strategy to prevent abrupt organizational changes and stably integrate the technological and business synergies between the 2 companies. However, the impact that changes in the governance structure, including Ray Holdings’ capital impairment and the reduction in specially related parties, will have on future management stability remains to be seen.