Market Kurly raises $200 mn at over $3 bn valuation

Kurly Inc., an operator of South Korea's online grocery delivery service Market Kurly, has raised 250 billion won ($212 million) in pre-IPO funding at a valuation of between 3.7 trillion and 4 trillion won ($3.1 billion-$3.4 billion).

The gourmet food delivery platform, known for a so-called "dawn delivery" service, recently informed its major shareholders of the latest fundraising in which unidentified foreign investors participated, according to investment banking sources on Dec. 1.

Its enterprise value has soared over 50%, compared with the 2.5 trillion won last June when it raised 225.4 billion won in a Series F funding round. In April 2020, it attracted 200 billion won in investment at a valuation of 900 billion won.

Kurly is aiming to make a trading debut in the first half of next year, after it scrapped a US listing plan in early July. Its close rival SSG.COM, the e-commerce brand of Shinsegae Group, and another grocery delivery platform Oasis Corp., are pushing for 2020 IPOs as well. 

Kurly in 2015 introduced the dawn delivery service, delivering fresh produce before 7 a.m. if the order is placed before 11 p.m. the previous night. 

Since then, its sales had skyrocketed over 300 times from 2.9 billion won in 2015. Its early-stage investors include domestic venture capital firms such as Korea Investment Partners, LB Investment and DSC Investment.

Kurly is now planning to expand its delivery service to the southern provinces of the country, while launching an open marketplace where consumers can sell their goods. Last September, it acquired Paybot, a Korean payment service provider that authorizes credit card and direct payments processing for retailers. 

Its 2020 revenue almost doubled to 953 billion won from a year earlier, but its operating loss deepened to 116.2 billion won from the previous year's 98.6 billion won. Its accumulated shortfalls reached 270 billion won as of end-2020.

Kurly has selected NH Investment & Securities Co. and Korea Investment & Securities Co. to lead its IPO.

Write to Jongwoo Kim at jongwoo@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kime edited this article