HK inno.N poised to bolster S.Korea's IPO lineup in H2

HK inno.N Corp., a pharmaceuticals unit of South Korea's Kolmar Korea, is set to go public in early August at a valuation of around 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion).

It is looking to raise between 505.8 billion and 596.9 billion won ($448 million-$529 million) from an initial public offering, based on its proposed price band of 50,000 and 59,000 won ($44.3-$52.3) apiece, according to the company's regulatory filing on June 30. 

Its debut on the junior Kosdaq market set for Aug. 9 is expected to invigorate South Korea's initial public offering market, with the mobile banking app KakaoBank, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' (PUBG) developer Krafton and COVID-19 test kit maker SD Biosensor Inc. also scheduled to list in the second half of this year.

Last month, HK inno.N applied for a preliminary review of its stock market listing by the Korean Exchange. The company is best known for its popular anti-hangover drink CONDITION.

HK inno.N, previously known as CJ Healthcare Co., will launch the bookbuilding process for its shares July 22-23 and offer its shares to retail investors July 29-30.

The unit of Kolmar Korea, a cosmetics and pharmaceuticals contract manufacturer, is offering 10 million shares, or 35% of its outstanding shares, for the IPO. 

GAINS FOR FINANCIAL INVESTORS

Three Korean financial investors --  H&Q, Mirae Asset Securities Co.’s private equity division and STIC Investments Inc. -- are set to pocket up to 117 billion won in proceeds from selling part of the shares in inno.N. The IPO price range represents a premium of 56% to 84% to their purchase price of 32,000 won.

Back in 2018, the three investment firms had acquired shares in inno.N to finance Kolmar's 1.3 trillion won purchase of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical company from the food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group.

H&Q, a Seoul-based private equity firm, owns 19.06% of inno.N as the second-largest shareholder, after Kolmar Korea with 52.7%. Mirae Asset and STIC Investments hold 17.43% and 10.81%, respectively. 

Their remaining shares are subject to three-month or six-month lock-up periods.

Korea Investment & Securities Co., Samsung Securities Co. and JPMorgan are managing the IPO. Retail investors are allowed to subscribe to the new shares only through one of the IPO managers, because of the recently introduced ban on their multiple subscriptions to IPO issues.

Analysts forecast inno.N's sales to jump over 30% to top 800 billion won this year from a year earlier and to surpass 1 trillion won in 2022. They expect the upcoming IPO will lead Kolmar Korea to shift its focus from cosmetics to pharmaceuticals.

(Updated with details from the company's public disclosure)

Write to Ye-jin Jun at ace@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.