In 2003, about one in five large flat panels sold worldwide came out of LG.Philips LCD. The Korean maker held roughly 22 percent of the market by revenue, according to DisplaySearch, and ran five fabs in Gumi, Korea. Its panels went into computer monitors, notebooks and a fast-growing crop of flat televisions. In July 2004 it listed in New York and Seoul at the same time, betting that the world was ready to throw out its tube TVs.

A Korean-Dutch Marriage

LG.Philips LCD was formed in September 1999 as a 50-50 joint venture between LG Electronics and Philips of the Netherlands. The pairing joined a Korean manufacturer with a European electronics giant. The bet was scale. LCD panels are cut from huge sheets of glass, and each new generation of fab cuts bigger sheets and cheaper screens. The company that built the next fab first could sell panels to the whole industry.

Fifteen Dollars in Two Markets

The ADSs priced at $15 each, the bottom of the range, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LPL. The shares also listed on the Korea Stock Exchange. The deal was the first concurrent dual-listed IPO by a Korean company. Philips sold down its stake over the following years, and in 2008 the company changed its name to LG Display. It still trades in New York under LPL.

Cover: Nocturne: Blue and Gold—Southampton Water, James McNeill Whistler. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for lights glowing over dark water (screens).