S.Korean grocery delivery platform Oasis drops IPO on weak demand

Oasis Corp., a South Korean grocery delivery platform, decided to withdraw its local initial public offering plan on Feb. 13 amid tepid interest from investors.

The company, which aimed to become the first listed gourmet food delivery platform in Korea, saw weak demand from institutional investors during bookbuilding on Feb. 7-8. Most of the institutional investors placed bids at prices below the indicative range of 30,500-39,500 won ($23.8-$30.9). 

Oasis’ listing plan garnered attention as it aimed for more than 1 trillion won in valuation, which is regarded as a large IPO in the local market. The most recent large-scale listing on the public market was W-Scope Chungju Plant Co. (WCP), a battery materials maker that debuted on the Kosdaq last September.

Other large-scale IPOs, including gourmet food delivery platform Kurly Inc., golf course operator Golfzon County Co., online banking services provider K Bank Co. and game developer Lionheart Studio Corp., postponed listing procedures last year as their financial investors, who had set high valuations for the companies, disagreed with the IPO plans.

Upcoming large-scale IPOs in the first half of this year include LG CNS Co., a tech services provider unit of Korea’s No. 4 conglomerate LG Corp. Macquarie Group, which holds a 35% stake in the LG unit, is slated to exit via public offering.

Another is Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company Ltd., the largest local company to provide credit insurance services. State-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., which owns 94%, is set to sell a 10% stake through the listing.

Write to Seok-Cheol Choi at dolsoi@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.