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

South Korean game publisher Netmarble is enjoying a boon from its equity investments as its subsidiary Netmable Neo’s value has more than doubled in recent months and stock prices of HYBE, Kakao Games and Coway surged.

The country’s mobile game developer Netmarble Neo, which filed for a preliminary review last week, has been valued at 3 trillion won ($2.65 billion), industry sources said Tuesday. Mirae Asset Securities and NH Investment & Securities are managing the process.

If Netmarble Neo’s market capitalization reaches 3.15 trillion won after the IPO, Netmarble’s 79% stake in its subsidiary will be worth 1.74 trillion won after applying a 30% discount rate. The value of Netmarble’s stake in Netmarble Neo has more than doubled since early March.

Netmarble Neo’s stock traded at 180,000 won apiece in the Korean over-the-counter (K-OTC) market on June 25. The company estimates its market capitalization to reach a 3 trillion won range after its listing, which exceeds its market capitalization in the K-OTC market.

The value of Netmarble’s shareholdings in other companies, particularly HYBE and NCSoft, also has increased rapidly.

HYBE’s stock price rose from 195,000 won in early March to 288,500 won on June 29, up 48% in just nearly four months. The value of Netmarble’s 19.9% stake in HYBE is about 1.5 trillion won, after applying a 30% discount rate to HYBE’s market capitalization of 10.92 trillion won.

The stock price of NCSoft has risen by about 42% since early March, from 575,000 won to 821,000 won. Netmarble owns an 8.9% stake in NCSoft through an equity swap, which is worth 1.12 trillion won after applying a discount rate.

Stock prices of Coway and Kakao Games also have increased more than 20% since early March. The two companies have market capitalization of about 5 trillion won and 4 trillion won, respectively. Netmarble owns a 25.51% stake in Coway and a 4.35% stake in Kakao Games, which translate into valuation of 1.05 trillion won and 134 billion won.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s internet-only bank KakaoBank is seeking to sell more than 65 million shares at between 33,000 won and 39,000 won per piece through its IPO. Based on the upper end of the price band, the market capitalization will reach 18.5 trillion won, which makes Netmable’s 3.74% stake in KakaoBank worth 485 billion won after a 30% discount.

A combined value of Netmarble’s shareholdings in each company is more than 6 trillion won, which accounts for more than half of its market capitalization of nearly 11.5 trillion won as of June 29.

There have been concerns for years about Netmarble’s excessive valuation as it recorded a price-to-earnings ratio of over 50 times immediately after its listing. Such concerns over the overvaluation may be eased if the value of its equity investments increases. (Reporting by Sang-woo Seong)