이 기사는 2021년 08월 11일 08시01분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Investment banks are moving to take on a role of underwriter for initial public offering (IPO) of Kakao Group’s affiliates, with Kakao Entertainment and Kakao Mobility considered among next affiliates to go public.

The stock price of KakaoBank increased nearly 25% as of Monday afternoon after hitting the daily upper limit on its market debut Friday, industry sources said on Monday. Its share price more than doubled to 86,400 won ($75.16) compared to its IPO price.

The digital lender's market capitalization amounted to about 41 trillion won, becoming the country's 10th largest company by market capitalization, ahead of Celltrion, with a market capitalization of 36.8 trillion won.

The combined market capitalization of Kakao Group's affiliates amounted to 115.01 trillion won. It has become the fifth largest corporate group in Korea by market capitalization after Samsung, SK, LG, and Hyundai Motor Group. A series of listings of the group’s affiliates since last year has pushed up the group’s corporate value.

Investment banks are paying attention to next in the pipeline after IPOs of Kakao Games and KakaoBank garnered strong attention from investors.

Kakao Pay is expected to list its shares on the main Kospi within this year after the local financial watchdog ordered the company to revise its prospectus.

Market insiders expect Kakao Entertainment to make its market debut next year, followed by Kakao Mobility in 2023, both of which are considered mega-IPOs. But the timeline may change as Kakao pursues corporate culture where each affiliate makes independent and autonomous decisions.

Brokerage firms are moving fast to take a role to handle the IPO process of Kakao Mobility. Many brokers are trying to build strong networks while the company is expected to issue a request for proposals this year.

Kakao Mobility has raised multi-trillion won from outside investors this year and is expanding its presence into the new sectors. The company’s enterprise value is widely expected to exceed 10 trillion won by the time it starts its IPO process in earnest.

Kakao Entertainment already selected NH Investment & Securities and KB Securities as domestic lead underwriters last year and picked Citigroup Global Markets Securities and Morgan Stanley as foreign lead underwriter and joint underwriter, respectively, earlier this year.

Kakao Japan’s IPO process is also underway, with Nomura Securities selected as a lead underwriter.

Newly-added affiliates like Kakao VX and Kakao Enterprise have successfully raised external funds, paving the way for possible IPOs.

Kakao Enterprise, an AI technology-based working platform and service unit of Kakao, raised 100 billion won from Korea Development Bank in January, making its corporate value reach 1.15 trillion won.

Kakao VX, an indoor golf simulator company, received 100 billion won from Velvet No.1 Limited in July in a deal which valued the company at around 600 billion won. (Reporting by Seok-cheol Choi)