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Korean online lender K Bank plans IPO of up to US$732 mil

Bloomberg
Bloomberg • 2 min read
Korean online lender K Bank plans IPO of up to US$732 mil
The listing of K Bank would be South Korea’s biggest debut since 2022, and shares are to list on Oct 30 at valuation of up to $4.9 bil. Photo: Bloomberg
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Online lender K Bank Co. has filed for an initial public offering in Seoul that may raise as much as 984 billion won ($960 million), in what would be the biggest South Korean listing in almost three years.

The company seeks to sell 82 million shares, half of which are new, according to a regulatory filing Monday. K Bank is looking to sell them at 9,500 won to 12,000 won apiece.

K Bank, which operates only through digital channels, would be valued at up to 5 trillion won ($4.9 billion) based on the 375.7 million shares outstanding disclosed in a filing last month. The company plans to list on Oct 30. 

The IPO would be the biggest in South Korea since battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd.’s US$10.7 billion deal in January 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It would also be the largest debut of a financial firm in the country since KakaoBank Corp. raised US$2.2 billion in 2021. 

IPOs in South Korea have raised US$1.23 billion so far this year, more than in all of 2023 but a far cry from the US$15.2 billion from 2021. Still, deals from the country have offered a bright spot in Asia as proceeds from Chinese firms have shrunk. 

Other Korean companies seeking to list shares include artificial-intelligence chip startup Rebellions Inc., which is inviting global banks to help it list shares as early as 2025. LG CNS Co., the information-technology services arm of LG Group, is also gearing up for a Seoul IPO as early as next year, Bloomberg News reported last month. 

See also: BlackRock, GIC to invest in Hyundai Motor India IPO

K Bank posted net income of 85.4 billion won for the first half of the year, more than three times the amount in the same period in 2023, according to a filing last month. 

NH Investment & Securities Co., KB Securities Co. and Bank of America Corp. are arranging K Bank’s IPO. 

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