K Car files for IPO at possible $1.8 bln valuation Hahn & Co-owned used car retailer seeks to raise $628 mil in planned IPO
Translated by Ryu Ho-joung 공개 2021-06-09 07:57:39
이 기사는 2021년 06월 09일 07:54 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.
K Car, South Korea's largest used car retailer, has filed paperwork for its initial public offering that could value the company at around 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion).The used car company plans to sell 16,830,288 shares, or 35% of the total 48,086,533 shares to be listed on the country’s main Kospi market, according to the document filed with the Korea Exchange on Friday. Given that it typically takes 45 working days for IPO application review, the book building process is expected to be launched in mid-August.
K Car is the latest in a slew of companies seeking to go public on the South Korean stock market in the second half of this year. Hyundai Heavy Industries and rental car company Lotte Rental filed their IPO applications in May. Hanwha General Chemical joined the IPO pipeline last week, and battery maker LG Energy Solution is targeting a listing in September.
These offerings, expected to raise billions of dollars, could have a negative impact on institutional order books of smaller firms going public on or near the dates of those IPOs. But K Car, which is seeking a valuation of over 2 trillion won, apparently didn’t care about those concerns.
K Car is set to be the first used car company to be listed on the country’s stock exchange, which could attract interest from investors who want exposure to the growing used car market. There have been no used car retailers large enough to be listed, as the sector has been protected by the government from competition and thus dominated by smaller players.
K Car, which formerly was SK Encar’s offline business, was acquired by Hahn & Co in early 2018. It has seen rapid growth under the private equity firm’s ownership, with its revenue rising from 742.7 billion won in 2018 to 1.32 trillion won in 2020.
The company also swung to an operating income of 29.2 billion won in 2019 from a loss of 1.3 billion won a year earlier, and the figure grew to 37.7 billion won in 2020. Other players in the market, such as Autoplus and AJ Sellcar, are incomparable in terms of size and profitability.
K Car has growth potential as the market is likely to see a wave of consolidation led by larger players amid rising concerns about frauds involving used car sales, industry insiders said.
K Car purchases used cars directly from owners, with 38 directly-managed stores nationwide. It also provides warranty for 365 days and allows both online and offline customers to get a refund if they want to within three days from the purchase. (Reporting by Kyung-ju Lee)
< 저작권자 ⓒ 자본시장 미디어 'thebell', 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지 >
관련기사
best clicks
최신뉴스 in 전체기사
-
- [VC 투자기업]쓰리빌리언, 시장친화적 공모구조 제시 '흥행 사활'
- [VC 투자기업]프로티나, 150억 국책과제 선정…IPO 준비 '순항'
- [VC 투자기업]페리지, 140억 프리IPO 투자 유치…발사체 개발 매진
- 쏠레어파트너스, 첫 K-콘텐츠 역외펀드 조성 '착착'
- [LLC형 VC 톺아보기]비하이인베, 초기투자 비중 82%…회수 '릴레이' 돌입
- IMM인베, 하우스 최대규모 벤처펀드 결성 도전
- [키움인베스트먼트는 지금]각자대표 체제 '2세' 김동준 역할은 ‘글로벌’ 방점
- '메자닌 명가' 시너지IB투자, LP 신뢰 바탕 1010억 펀딩
- 삼영이엔씨, 엘젠과 AI 국방사업 협력 MOU
- [불붙는 반도체 유리기판 생태계]필옵틱스, 5년 공들인 TGV…글로벌 밸류체인 올라탔다