Korea's IPO calendar readies for a new year packed with high-profile names

[Photo by Lee Seung-hwan]

South Korea’s IPO calendar and candidates ready for next year as the pipeline thinned earlier than expected for 2021 due to bearish year-end market.

Big names include LG Energy Solution Ltd., Hyundai Engineering Co., and SSG.com, to name a few.

The bellwether will be LG Energy Solution, the largest pure-play battery maker outside China spun off from LG Chem Ltd. a year ago.

The battery maker filed a preliminary review for its IPO in June but decided to put it off due to cost-sharing in the recall of General Motors’ Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle. The company has resumed its listing process after finalizing the recall deal with GM.

Its IPO is estimated at 10 trillion won ($8.4 billion), putting the company’s value at between 50 trillion won and 100 trillion won.

[Source: LG Energy Solution Ltd.]

Hyundai Engineering filed for preliminary IPO review on Sept.30 for listing in the main Kospi bourse. The result is expected to come out within this month given that a reviewing process typically takes up to 45 business days.

Its shares are trading at 125,000 won at the country’s over-the-counter (OTC) market Seoul Exchange and its corporate value is estimated at 9.5 trillion won.

E-commerce players could also entice interest from home and overseas investors.

[Source: SSG.com]

Shinsegae Group’s e-commerce unit SSG.com has recently recruited underwriters with an aim to go public next year. The company said it is eyeing valuation of 10 trillion won through IPO.

Kurly Inc., the operator of Market Kurly with pioneering fresh food delivery service, also chose lead managers for its listing on the Kospi market last week after scrapping its original plan to debut in the U.S. earlier this year. Its OTC market cap is estimated to reach 2.5 trillion won.

This year has been a bumper year for the country’s IPO market but the investment sentiment has soured in the second half due to market volatility and concerns over additional rate hike that can depreciate newly listed companies’ valuation.

Four out of 13 companies that conducted bookbuilding last month priced their IPO below the low end of the desired pricing band. Candidates like OED luxury handbag maker Simone Acc. Colleciton Ltd. and container carrier SM Line Corp. cancelled IPO plans.

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