LG Energy to heat up Korea’s record IPO market in 2022

South Korea’s initial public offering market is expected to set a record in 2022, heating up from the start of the year as LG Energy Solution Ltd. and other major companies are lined up for listings.

They are likely to raise more than the current high of 20.1 trillion won ($16.9 billion) in 2021 with 14 companies’ enterprise values estimated at over 1 trillion won each.

LG Energy, the world’s No. 2 electric vehicle battery maker, aims to raise 10.9 trillion won to 12.8 trillion won in January through the largest-ever initial listing in the country. The IPO would be more than double the current IPO record of Samsung Life Insurance that raised 4.9 trillion won in 2010.

The company is scheduled to hold bookbuilding for institutional investors on Jan. 11-12 and public subscription on Jan. 18-19 for a debut on the Kospi on Jan. 27. Its market capitalization is expected to be at up to 70.2 trillion won right after the listing, becoming the country’s third most valuable company on the Kospi after Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc.

HYUNDAI ENGINEERING, HYUNDAI OILBANK

Hyundai Engineering Co., a construction unit of Hyundai Motor Group, and Hyundai Oilbank Co., the refinery unit of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co., seek listings.

Hyundai Engineering targets a listing on Feb. 15. Its market capitalization will reach up to 6 trillion won, based on its proposed price guidance, surpassing that of its parent company Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. (Hyundai E&C) at 4.9 trillion won. Hyundai E&C is the top shareholder with a 38.6% stake.

Hyundai Oilbank on Dec. 13 submitted an application for an IPO with its market capitalization forecast to be around 10 trillion won.

Kyobo Life Insurance Co., the country’s third-largest life insurer by sales, on Dec. 21 applied for a preliminary review of its public listing with the Korea Exchange, three years after it canceled the IPO plan at the end of 2018 amid a thorny dispute with overseas investors.

GROCERY E-COMMERCE TRIO

Grocery delivery platform trio – SSG.COM, Kurly Inc., and Oasis Corp. - are also slated to attract investors.

SSG.COM, the e-commerce brand of South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Inc., targets a corporate value of 10 trillion won after a listing in 2022. Kurly, an operator of online grocery delivery service Market Kurly, raised 250 billion won in pre-IPO funding at a valuation of up to 4 trillion won, according to investment banking industry sources in December. Another grocery delivery platform, Oasis Corp., is the only company that posts profits among them.

Kakao Corp. is expected to list Kakao Entertainment Corp. after KakaoBank Corp. and Kakao Pay Corp. successfully went public in 2021. The operator of Kakao Webtoon is in the process of selecting bookrunners.

CJ Olive Young, the country’s top beauty store chain, is also seeking a listing with enterprise value estimated at 3 trillion won, while One store Co., the South Korean homegrown app store, was moving ahead with its plan to go public with a targeted enterprise value of 2 trillion won. SK Shieldus, formerly known as ADT Caps Co., may seek a listing.

Write to Tae-ho Lee at thlee@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.