이 기사는 2022년 02월 17일 08:06 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Kurly, the operator of South Korea's online grocery delivery service Market Kurly, is facing challenges ahead of its application for a preliminary initial public offering (IPO) review as the country’s bourse operator has become picky about granting approval.

The Korea Exchange (KRX) has requested Kurly to meet additional listing requirements, according to industry sources on Wednesday. Kurly is preparing to apply for a preliminary review to go public in the first half.

The possibility that Kurly CEO Sophie Kim’s management control will become more vulnerable is considered the biggest hurdle. The KRX seems to have remained skeptical about whether Kim will be able to manage the company in a stable manner after the listing, which will likely further reduce her stake in the company. Kurly signed an agreement with major shareholders to jointly exercise voting rights, but this failed to ease the KRX’s concerns.

Kim owned 6.67% of Kurly while the remaining 93.33% was held by domestic and foreign investors, according to the company’s audit report in 2020. Kurly’s shareholders included Sequoia Capital China with 13.84%, Hillhouse Capital with 12.03%, and DST Global with 10.69%.

Kim’s shareholding in the company is estimated to have lowered to less than 6% after Kurly raised about 480 billion won ($400 million) through two rounds of fundraising last year. Her holding is expected to be further reduced after the planned IPO.

Kurly has proved its growth potential by raising about 900 billion won through Series A to F funding rounds and pre-IPO placement. The multiple rounds of funding have resulted in a dilution of Kim’s ownership.

Some of investors in Kurly can opt to sell their shares to seek profits not so long after the listing. A number of its early-stage investors including Alpenroute Asset Management and DS Asset already exited their investments by selling shares in Kurly. A hostile takeover may be attempted if some of its major shareholders sell off their holdings. There have been rumors going around the market that Kurly will be put up for sale although Kim has strongly denied the rumor.

Kurly has recorded more than 100 billion won in losses each year. The company may need to raise additional funds as it is expected to continue posting losses after the listing, potentially causing an additional dilution of Kim’s ownership.

The KRX usually asks the largest shareholder and related parties to own more than 20% of a company’s shares to get approval for stock listing.

The KRX eased listing rules to attract more Korean unicorn companies last year, allowing local unicorns to list on the main Kospi market as long as they meet the criteria of having a market capitalization of 1 trillion won.

However, the bourse operator has turned cautious on granting approval to domestic unicorns amid various noises in the IPO market including managements’ exercise of stock options after a stock listing and subsequent sell-off.

Kurly plans to continue preparations for its listing to meet the KRX guidelines. “We are continuing discussions with the KRX, contrary to some concerns in the market,” said an official at Kurly. “There is no change in our goal of going public in the first half.” (Reporting by Seok-cheol Choi)