이 기사는 2021년 04월 26일 07:55 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korea’s ecommerce operators Market Kurly and TMON are reportedly considering to go public on the U.S. stock market through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), industry sources said on Thursday.

The two companies are reportedly seeking legal advices on tax issues, as Korean companies have never made their stock market debut in the U.S. through a SPAC merger.

Merging with a SPAC recently has become more prevalent in the U.S. as it allows a company to go public and get a capital influx more quickly than it would have with a conventional initial public offering (IPO).

A successful U.S. public market debut of their bigger rival, Coupang, is believed to have an impact on the companies’ decision on the listing venue. Coupang’s market capitalization hit $88 billion after its listing.

The fact that the U.S. stock markets put emphasis on growth than Korean markets is likely to make their U.S. listing plans more realistic.

However, some market insiders noted that when a domestic company merges with a SPAC listed on the U.S. stock market, the approval process and tax issues won’t be as simple as those of a SPAC merger between the U.S. companies because the former is a cross-border transaction.

Market Kurly hired Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan in March to lead the listing process.

The company is reportedly seeking to be valued at 3 trillion won in the new funding round it recently launched. It recorded an operating loss of 116.2 billion won last year alone, resulting in a cumulative loss of 270 billion won.

Some market insiders said TMON may not be able to make its debut within this year due to its poor financial performance. TMON recorded revenue of 151.2 billion won in 2020 on a consolidated basis, around 14% decrease from a year ago. It also has to improve its profitability although the company narrowed its operating loss to 63.1 billion won last year. TMON has been in a state of impaired capital since 2017.

TMON also has to consider its major shareholders’ exits when listing its shares. TMON’s largest shareholder is Monster Holdings, a special purpose vehicle jointly created by KKR and Anchor Equity Partners. TMON raised 255 billion won from new investors including PS Alliance earlier this year, with KKR and Anchor Equity Partners injecting 80 billion won. (Reporting by Si-eun Park)