Selection of Lead Underwriter... Application for Auditor Designation to FSC
IPO Scheduled for First Half of Next Year... Company Valued at 10 Trillion KRW
Signals for KakaoBank and KakaoPage Back-to-Back Listings
Ryu Young-jun, CEO of Kakao Pay, is attending 'Kakao Pay Day 2019' held last year at Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, and announcing major business plans. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Kakao's financial affiliate Kakao Pay has begun concrete preparations for its IPO. Following Kakao Games, a 'listing rush' of Kakao affiliates such as Kakao Bank and Kakao Page is expected to accelerate.
According to the financial investment industry on the 28th, Kakao Pay, which recently selected KB Securities as its lead underwriter, plans to apply for auditor designation with the Financial Supervisory Service on the same day.
Previously, Kakao Pay had consistently announced plans to go public in 2021. After observing the successful IPO of group company Kakao Games last month, it judged the timing to be right and has entered concrete procedures. A Kakao Pay official stated, "We plan to go public in the first half of next year," adding, "Since we meet the listing requirements for both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets, we will discuss with the underwriters and make a final decision on the market for listing."
Kakao Pay is a leading domestic simple payment company with 34 million subscribers. As of the first half of the year, its transaction volume exceeded 29 trillion won. By acquiring Baro Investment & Securities, it launched 'Kakao Pay Securities' in February and entered the financial investment industry. It is also promoting the establishment of a digital non-life insurance company, expanding its scope from simple payments to various financial services. The IPO is being pursued to raise the large-scale funds necessary for this process.
If successful, it is expected to become the first fintech (finance + technology) company to be listed domestically. Sung Jong-hwa, a researcher at eBest Investment & Securities, recently estimated the corporate value at 9.76 trillion won in a report, stating, "Kakao Pay is growing even more steeply due to the existing high growth trend combined with additional benefits from the COVID-19 pandemic."
Meanwhile, following Kakao Pay, Kakao Bank and Kakao Page are also expected to go public one after another. Kakao Bank, scheduled to list next year, resolved an IPO in the second half of next year at its board meeting on the 22nd. Kakao Page, a content platform for webtoons and web novels, recently selected NH Investment & Securities and KB Securities as its lead underwriters.
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