이 기사는 2022년 03월 30일 08:09 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korea’s two online grocery delivery platforms Kurly and Oasis are expected to go public only two weeks apart.

Kurly filed a preliminary initial public offering (IPO) application with the Korea Exchange (KRX) on Monday, about two months later than its original plan. It initially planned to file its application between the end of January and the beginning of February.

A group of the company's major shareholders have reportedly agreed to jointly exercise voting rights and set their lock-up periods, aiming to defend Kurly CEO Sophie Kim's management rights. The startup has also secured a friendly stake of about 20% to get approval for stock listing.

It is said that KRX also responded positively to the firm’s agreement with shareholders although it was not completely what the bourse operator had look for.

Another grocery delivery platform Oasis is highly likely to file a preliminary IPO application in mid-April. It plans to gauge the right timing after submitting its audited financial statement for 2021 in early next month.

The company has almost finished with a process to limit its board members to hold concurrent positions to enhance the independence of the board. A conversion of mezzanines into common shares, which is usually considered a prep work for listing, is highly likely to be completed in early April.

Oasis sold convertible preferred shares worth 10 billion won ($8.19 million) to Must Ventures in April 2021. Requests for the conversion of the convertible preferred shares start on April 3.

Convertible bonds that were issued will also be converted into common shares. Korea Investment Partners acquired convertible bonds worth 12.6 billion won in April 2020 and Kakao Investment purchased convertible bonds worth 5 billion won in December 2020.

Companies normally try to give themselves distance from their rivals’ IPOs, but Oasis and Kurly’s market debuts are expected to overlap as the KRX’s review on Kurly’s listing is highly likely to take longer than expected.

Kurly and Oasis have an uncomfortable past, with Oasis reporting Kurly to the Fair Trade Commission for violating the Fair Trade Act. Ironically, the rivals chose Korea Investment & Securities and NH Investment & Securities as underwriters for their IPOs at the end of last year. With their IPO schedules highly likely to overlap, their underwriters will likely put more efforts into minimizing possible conflict of interest during the marketing process.

It remains to be seen how financial authorities like the KRX and the Financial Supervisory Service make their decisions on the two firm’s IPO plans. While Kurly plans to list its shares on the main Kospi bourse, Oasis is readying itself to list on the secondary Kosdaq market.

“It is too early to talk about adjusting their IPO timelines as they just kicked off their IPO processes,” said an industry source. “The Chinese wall among underwriters of the two deals is being strictly kept and they will create an optimal situation that can satisfy each company.” (Reporting by Seok-cheol Choi)