이 기사는 2022년 05월 20일 07:36 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korea’s digital lender K bank plans to submit an application for preliminary review for its initial public offering (IPO) next month.

K bank has started its non-deal roadshow recently with its lead underwriters, which are NH Investment & Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities and JP Morgan, according to industry sources on Wednesday.

The company believes that its business model that is capable of posting sustainable growth would appeal to potential investors. New product lineups including non-face-to-face mortgage loans and competitive UI/UX technology are considered the bank’s strengths.

K bank and its underwriters plan to finalize the IPO strategy, including an IPO price range, after the non-deal roadshow. They will also go through the final procedure before submitting the application, alongside conducting an additional due diligence.

They aim to submit the application in June. K bank executives are determined to applying for the preliminary review next month, but the timeline may change depending on market conditions.

The lender will likely get results in September if it submits its application next month, as it normally takes about two to three months to get preliminary approval from the Korea Exchange. Given this and the time needed for the next steps, the bank’s market debut may happen within this year.

“With a series of mega deals including IPOs of SK shieldus and One Store canceled recently, more companies are mulling to put off their planned listings,” a market insider said. “SoCar, which received an approval in early April hasn’t submitted its IPO registration statement yet.”

K bank’s listing is considered one of the mega deals in the second half of this year. The company’s value is estimated at around 10 trillion won ($7.8 billion), which may increase to 15 trillion won if it selects foreign banks as its comparable companies, according to analysts. (Reporting by Chul Kang)