이 기사는 2022년 03월 16일 07시39분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s Kakao Mobility will hold an initial meeting later this week to discuss plans for its flotation after hiring five banks to manage one of the blockbuster deals this year, according to industry sources.

The company picked Korea Investment & Securities, Daishin Securities, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets Securities to work on its initial public offering in a selection process that completed last week.

Kakao Mobility has not finalized roles of the selected banks yet, probably because it has not decided whether to list its shares on the local bourse Kospi or overseas.

“It is likely that a final decision on the listing venue and which banks will win top roles on the deal will be made at the kick-off meeting this week,” a market insider said.

The kick-off meeting is held almost seven months after the mobility unit of Kakao Corp asked for IPO proposals because of delays in the timeline caused by the controversy over the internet giant’s rapid growth at the expense of small business owners.

It is likely that the IPO strategy – potentially focused on co-existing with the taxi industry – and the timeline for due diligence will be discussed at the meeting.

Assuming a domestic listing and a typical lead time of four to five months for preparation, Kakao Mobility is expected to be able to submit its IPO registration statement to Korea Exchange as soon as the third quarter of this year.

This means Kakao Mobility could complete the listing by the end of this year as it promised its early investors, including private equity firm TPG. However, the company may want to delay its IPO to next year if market conditions are unfavorable, observers said.

“Kakao Mobility has resumed its IPO process because it is obligated under the contract to help its investors exit,” said another market insider. “Whether it still wants to go public this year remains to be seen considering a tough stock market in the country.”

The planned IPO is expected to value Kakao Mobility at more than 8 trillion won ($6.4 billion), one of the country’s biggest deals this year after LG Energy Solution’s debut in January. Banks invited to pitch for roles in the deal reportedly put the average valuation even at 15 trillion won on the company. (Reporting by Chan-mi Oh)