이 기사는 2021년 07월 19일 07시53분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korean grocery delivery startup Kurly, which has chosen Seoul as a listing venue, is being selective in hiring its underwriters.

Kurly sent a request for proposal (RFP) to domestic and foreign brokerage firms on Wednesday and asked whether they are involved in a deal led by its competitor, according to industry sources. This signifies the company’s intention to keep its underwriter from taking part in such deal to erase concerns about a possible conflict of interest.

Market observers said Kurly is keeping in mind a potential mega-deal led by the nation’s conglomerates, particularly SSG.com. Shinsegae Group launched its online retail channel SSG.com to jump into the local ecommerce market dominated by Coupang. SSG.com also began expanding dawn delivery in several major cities in North and South Chungcheong Province this month, including Daejeon, Cheongju, Cheonan and Sejoing City. The concept of dawn delivery service is first introduced by Kurly.

SSG.com is expected to start its initial public offering (IPO) process in earnest in the second half of this year, which may not be far away from the Kurly’s listing date.

There may be a problem with a marketing campaign toward institutional investors if an underwriter is simultaneously in charge of more than two deals in the same industry. There may be a concern about information leakage although chances are slim.

Among competitors, Oasis, a South Korean online grocery delivery startup, already announced its IPO plan and hired NH Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities as lead underwriters earlier this month. The two brokerage firms have reportedly been excluded from the Kurly’s selection process.

Kurly has chosen Seoul as a listing venue, taking a U-turn from plans to float in New York where ecommerce giant Coupang made a successful stock market debut earlier this year. The company had hired Samsung Securities in 2018 to lead an IPO but later canceled the contract as it considered a US listing. (Reporting by Kyung-ju Lee)