이 기사는 2021년 07월 01일 08시11분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korean internet giant Kakao’s two finance arms KakaoBank and Kakao Pay are expected to go public together.

Such back-to-back listings on the stock market may have a negative impact on the initial public offering (IPO) results as they may disperse funds. It is also a rare case where two affiliates make their stock market debut together.

Although many market insiders had expected KakaoBank and Kakao Pay will adjust their IPO timing at the last minute, the companies have decided to proceed with their plan to go public just one week apart.

Kakao insiders said the decision is natural because Kakao pursues a corporate culture where each affiliate makes independent and autonomous decisions.

Kakao doesn’t officially have a chief financial officer (CFO) post. Instead, each affiliate has a CFO to make decisions on investment, IPO, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). With a CFO of each affiliate making a final decision, parent Kakao doesn’t coordinate financial decisions.

Instead of having an official CFO, executive vice president Bae Jae-hyun is serving as the CFO of Kakao. Bae only reviews group-level deals, but is not deeply involved in affiliates’ IPOs and M&As. Kim Kwang-ok is serving as the CFO and chief strategy officer of KakaoBank, while Chang Ki-joo is serving as the CFO of Kakao Pay.

KakaoBank and Kakao Pay will likely go public seven days to 10 days apart, industry sources said. Kakao Pay received preliminary approval for its IPO from stock exchange operator Korea Exchange (KRX) on Monday and is preparing to submit its registration statement. Kakao Pay’s market debut is likely to come in mid-August at the latest.

KakaoBank submitted its registration statement only seven working days after it received a nod from the KRX on June 17. It has set the listing date for August 5.

Some market insiders noted that KakaoBank has difficulty controlling the listing schedule due to the influence of external investors.

While Kakao owns a 55% stake in Kakao Pay, it only holds a 31.78% stake in KakaoBank. Korea Financial Holdings, the second largest shareholder, has a 31.77% stake in the online-only bank, with KB Financial Holdings, Netmarble, and YES24 being major shareholders. (Reporting by Ha-na Suh)