LG Energy Solution Rewriting IPO History, Raising Up to 13 Trillion Won (Comprehensive)

Listed on January 27... Market Cap Expected to Reach 70 Trillion Won Range

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] LG Energy Solution has officially entered the initial public offering (IPO) process.

LG Energy Solution submitted its securities registration statement to the Financial Services Commission on the 7th for listing on the Korea Exchange.

The total number of shares offered in this IPO is 42.5 million. LG Energy Solution will issue 34 million new shares, and its parent company LG Chem will sell 8.5 million existing shares, which corresponds to 4.25% of its 200 million shares (100%) held in LG Energy Solution.

Of these, excluding 20% allocated to the employee stock ownership association, 55?75% will be allocated to institutional investors, and 25?30% to general subscribers.

The expected price range per share is 257,000 to 300,000 KRW. Accordingly, the expected total offering amount ranges from a minimum of 10.9225 trillion KRW to a maximum of 12.75 trillion KRW. This surpasses the previous highest KOSPI IPO amount recorded by Samsung Life Insurance in 2010 (4.8881 trillion KRW) by more than twice.

After the issuance of new shares, the total number of shares after listing will be 234 million. Based on the offering price, LG Energy Solution’s expected market capitalization after listing will be between 60.138 trillion KRW and 70.2 trillion KRW. It will immediately rank as the 3rd or 4th largest company by market capitalization on the KOSPI.

As of the closing price on the day, the 3rd largest KOSPI company, Naver, has a market capitalization in the 64 trillion KRW range, and the 4th largest, Samsung Biologics, is in the 58 trillion KRW range.

LG Energy Solution plans to use the funds raised through this IPO for facility investments to expand production capacity at its domestic Ochang plant, and for acquiring securities of other corporations to expand production capacity at overseas plants in North America, Europe, and China. Additionally, the funds will be used for operating expenses related to research and development of lithium-ion batteries and next-generation batteries, as well as for improving product quality and process enhancements.

Kwon Young-soo, Vice Chairman and CEO of LG Energy Solution, stated, "Through this IPO, we will proactively respond to the rapidly growing secondary battery market demand, and continue battery research and development with world-class quality and competitiveness to become the undisputed world’s best secondary battery manufacturer."

Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution plans to conduct institutional investor demand forecasting on the 11th and 12th of next month, followed by general subscription on the 18th and 19th, and aims to be listed on the 27th of the same month.