이 기사는 2019년 10월 25일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Zinus, South Korean mattress and furniture maker, received an enthusiastic response from foreign institutional investors in its initial public offering (IPO) on the country's main bourse.

After a book build to take bids from institutional investors, Zinus announced last Friday the final offer price at 70 thousand won, slightly lower than the bottom of its expected price range, valuing the company at about 995 billion won ($850 million).

The seemingly disappointing results were attributed to lackluster demands from domestic institutional investors for shares offered by the mattress manufacturer, which is relatively less known at home than abroad.

On the contrary, the company's IPO witnessed high demand from overseas institutional investors, who accounted for 54 percent of the total orders. This is over twice more than other domestic listed companies, which on average received about 20 percent of the subscription from foreign investors.

Zinus reportedly received favorable bids from many of the major global funds. All of the foreign institutional investors who participated in this book build have previously invested in the mattress maker, which may show their optimism about the company's growth outlook in the overseas market.

In particular, foreign investors seemed to be attracted by the future growth potential of Zinus in a partnership with Amazon. The company generated 93 percent of its overall revenue in the U.S. according to its consolidated financial statement, as of June 30. It also has entered other overseas markets, including Canada, Australia and Japan, where the U.S. e-commerce giant dominates.

"Overseas institutional investors focused on the synergy between the two companies. Some of the investors expressed their intention to buy additional stake in Zinus apart from shares for public subscription," said a market source.

Overseas asset owners and managers, like SWFs and index funds, are considered long-term investors. "Overseas long-term funds normally invest in stocks with an extended investment horizon of over five years. This is a good thing for Zinus stock, as volatility that could be caused by sell-off right after the IPO by short-term investors can be avoided," said another market source.

(By reporter Jeon Kyung-jin)