Bionote slashs IPO price to 9,000 won, 50% lower than previous valuation

Everybody is aware that investment fever on biotech firms has already cooled due to rising interest rates and concerns over the fizzling economy, and Bionote, South Korea's in-vitro diagnostics company and the last runner seeking to enter the stock market within this year, may have felt these difficulties the most.

After conducting a book building for institutional investors from Dec. 8 to 9, Bionote officially disclosed on Monday that it has decided on the initial public offering (IPO) price at 9,000 won ($6.89) per share, which is almost half the desired range of 18,000 won to 22,000 won.

A total of 237 institutional investors participated in the demand forecast, recording a competition rate of 3.29 to 1, poor performance with the low single-digit competition.

If the IPO goes as planned, Bionote will be able to raise 93.6 billion won through public subscription, and its market capitalization after listing will be 917 billion won. The amount is significantly lower than around 2 trillion won, a figure expected when its IPO price was presumed at around 20,000 won.

Bionote will go public on Dec. 22 after receiving subscriptions from retail investors on Dec. 13-14.

"With the completion of the IPO, Bionote will further accelerate the expansion of ongoing global business based on increased brand recognition, external credibility, and more talented people," said Cho Byung-Ki, CEO of Bionote.

Write to Ye-Jin Jun at ace@hankyung.com