Market Kurly assures it will proceed with IPO within 6-mo deadline or by Feb

Kurly Inc., the operator of South Korea’s online grocery shopping and dawn delivery platform Market Kurly, denied media reports that it is withdrawing its initial public offering (IPO) scheme due to unfavorable market conditions.

“We have been studying the right moment to go public before the deadline since gaining preliminary approval on August 22,” the company said in a statement released on Friday. The option of IPO cancellation has never been discussed with the Korea Exchange, lead managers, or investors, according to the statement.

This year’s big aspirants like Hyundai Oil Bank and SK shieldus all scrapped their IPO plans due to poor market conditions.

Car-sharing platform SoCar had to cut IPO price and scale but nevertheless was shunned when it joined the Kospi.

CJ Olive Young, the nation’s top beauty store chain, has tentatively suspended its IPO process.

Kurly began its IPO process after it submitted a preliminary IPO review request to the Korea Exchange in March which was approved five months later on Aug. 22.

The assessment process was delayed over concerns that the founder and CEO Kim Seul-ah, also known as Sophie Kim, holds only a small stake in the company while more than half of the shares are owned by foreign firms. The approval was eventually granted after the major shareholders agreed to lock-up for two years after the IPO.

According to IPO rules, once a company receives a preliminary nod, it must complete the listing process within six months. If it fails to do so, it must go through the review process again.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]