Hyundai Heavy hires Korea Investment, 4 others as IPO managers

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., which plans to list its shares on the local bourse this year, has mandated Korea Investment & Securities Co. and four other brokerages to manage its initial public offering.

According to the investment banking industry on Mar. 2, Hyundai Heavy has selected Korea Investment and Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. as lead managers of the share sale. Three others – KB Securities Co., Hana Financial Investment Co. and Credit Suisse – were picked as the IPO co-managers.

In early February, the shipbuilder sent out a request for proposals (RFPs) to brokerages interested in managing its planned IPO and received proposals by Feb. 19.

The company announced in January that it will raise up to 1 trillion won ($889 million) via an IPO, in which it plans to issue new shares amounting to a 20% stake in the company.

DEVELOPMENT OF ECO-FRIENDLY VESSELS

The proceeds will be used to develop eco-friendly vessels fueled by hydrogen and ammonia and autonomous ships.

The financial industry estimates Hyundai Heavy’s value at around 5 trillion to 6 trillion won based on the market capitalization of its competitors Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.

Hyundai Heavy is wholly owned by its parent Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), which is also the intermediate holding company of the Hyundai Heavy Industries Group.

The shipbuilding group targets a combined $14.9 billion in new orders for 2021, up 35.4% from last year’s results of $11 billion for 116 vessels.

According to shipping intelligence provider Clarksons Research, global ship orders are likely to reach 23.8 million compensated gross tonnage (CGT) this year, up 21% from the previous year. Clarksons projects an average of 35.1 million CGT order placements to be made annually between 2022 and 2025.

Write to Jong-Woo Kim at jongwoo@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.