KTB Network to list at bottom of price range

KTB Network Co., South Korea's first-generation venture capital firm, priced its public offering price at the bottom of the guidance range as the resurgence in COVID-19 infections has cooled investor sentiment on the stock market.

KTB, wholly owned by KTB Investment & Securities Co., set its IPO price at 5,800 won ($4.9) to raise 116 billion won ($99 million) after a two-day book building session Nov. 29-30, according to its regulatory filing on Thursday.

It is selling only newly issued 20 million shares for the IPO, which were oversubscribed 50.19 times by institutional investors.

Among the 405 institutions participating in the book building, 45% placed bids above the indicative band of 5,800-7,200 won. Another 42.5% proposed to buy the stock within the range. Only four institutions expressed their intention to hold the stock for a certain period of time after the IPO.

KTB Network will make a trading debut on Kosdaq on Dec. 16. after receiving retail subscriptions Dec. 6-7. Based on the listing price, its market capitalization will stand at 580 billion won on its first day of trading. 

The Kosdaq index slipped 1.5% in November alone, following the Bank of Korea's second interest rate increase in three months. On Thursday, the Kosdaq market closed steady at 977.43.

In early 2019, KTB Network postponed the IPO after receiving preliminary approval from the Korea Exchange for a listing a year before, citing unfavorable market conditions.

It revived the IPO plan this year, after its aggressive investments in both domestic and overseas startups generated a record net profit of 35.8 billion won last year, including its exit from the Korean fintech company Viva Republica Inc.

With 1.2 trillion won in assets under management, KTB Network this year pocketed a double-digit return, or 62.5 billion won, from the sale of its stake in Woowa Brothers Corp., the operator of the country's largest delivery service app Baemin, to Germany's Delivery Hero SE.

It is also the first Korean VC firm to expand into overseas markets, including Southeast Asia and India.

Korea Investment & Securities lead manages the IPO, with NH Investment & Securities Co., Samsung Securities Co., Eugene Investment & Securities Co., HI Investment & Securities Co. and KB Securities Co. among joint book-runners.

Write to A-young Yoon at youngmoney@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.