SK Group's '11st' Pursues KOSPI Listing

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] '11st', the e-commerce division of SK Group, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO).

According to the investment industry on the 22nd, 11st sent a 'Request for Proposal (RFP) for Listing on the KOSPI Market' to about 10 domestic and international securities firms the day before.

Six firms including Daishin, Mirae Asset, Samsung, Korea Investment & Securities, and NH Investment & Securities were invited. Among foreign firms, Bank of America (BofA) Securities, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Global Markets Securities, and JP Morgan received the proposal request.

Securities firms wishing to participate in the bidding must submit their proposals by the 11th of next month. 11st plans to complete the selection of the lead underwriters in May and then proceed with the listing process. The target listing date is the following year.

11st is one of the oldest e-commerce platforms in South Korea. Its predecessor was Commerce Planet, established by SK Telecom in 2007. It became a separate company in 2018. Originally a subsidiary of SK Planet, it was spun off through a corporate split.

The investment banking industry estimates that 11st's target corporate value will be around 4 to 5 trillion KRW. Meanwhile, 11st's sales last year were 561.4 billion KRW, an increase of about 3% compared to the previous year. However, during the same period, operating losses also expanded from 9.8 billion KRW to 69.4 billion KRW.