이 기사는 2022년 04월 15일 08시04분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

SK Square, the investment holding company of South Korea’s SK Group, is expected to speed up public listings of its subsidiaries this year and next as it looks to increase its net assets for future growth.

SK Square was founded as an intermediate holding company after being spun off from SK Telecom in November last year. Its holdings include One Store, SK shieldus, T Map Mobility, 11 Street, SK planet and Content Wavve.

It aims to grow its consolidated net assets to 75 trillion won ($61.3 billion) by 2025 through initial public offerings of companies under its belt.

One Store and SK shieldus are preparing for IPOs with a target of listing later this year. They are expected to be valued at up to 1.1 trillion won and 3.5 trillion won, respectively, based on their initial price ranges.

One Store, a homegrown app marketplace operator, has continued to grow its revenue in the domestic app store market since its inception despite dominance by Google and Apple. It plans to use the IPO proceeds to expand into overseas markets.

SK shieldus, which provides security services, is valued higher than its listed peer, S-1 Corporation, thanks to its strong equity story. Despite unfavorable market conditions, both One Store and SK shieldus are expected to see good demand for their IPOs given their growth potential, industry watchers said.

T Map Mobility, 11 Street and Content Wavve are expected to aim to go public next year. T Map Mobility raised 400 billion won externally in April last year and recently acquired two airport bus companies for 200 billion won as it steps up to expand its business. Its rival Kakao Mobility, which is also preparing for an IPO, is estimated to be valued at up to 20 trillion won.

Ecommerce platform 11 Street partnered with Amazon to launch Amazon Global Store in South Korea in August last year. It has continued to strengthen its position in the country’s ecommerce market, with the number of new merchants on its site growing 20% year-on-year in 2021.

Content Wavve is the largest player in the country’s streaming market. The number of its monthly active users increased by 15% year-on-year to 4.74 million in 2021. It is expected to be valued at trillions of won given rival Tving’s value, which jumped to 2 trillion won in its latest funding, and the growing popularity of K-content. (Reporting by Chan-mi Oh)