Millie's Library Launches IPO... Begins Offering 2 Million Shares

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The reading platform Millie’s Library announced on the 29th that it has submitted a securities registration statement to the Financial Services Commission and officially begun the public offering process.

According to Millie’s Library, the public offering size is 2 million shares. The desired offering price ranges from 21,500 KRW to 25,000 KRW, with a total expected offering amount of 43 billion to 50 billion KRW. After a demand forecast from the 25th to the 26th and subscription from the 31st to November 1st, the company plans to be listed on the KOSDAQ market in November. Mirae Asset Securities is the lead underwriter.

Millie’s Library was established in 2016 and is a reading platform company that introduced Korea’s first subscription-based e-book service in October 2017. It offers not only 120,000 reading contents but also multimedia content based on book IP, such as audiobooks, audio dramas, and chatbooks (chat-based reading content). As of August this year, the number of publishing companies with supply contracts exceeds 1,500. In September last year, it was acquired by Genie Music and incorporated into the KT Group.

The growth trend is steep. The cumulative number of members increased from about 2 million in 2019 to approximately 5.5 million as of August this year. B2B corporate members are also expanding. The number of public institutions and companies using Millie’s Library services surged from 30 in 2019 to about 190 as of August this year.

It signaled a positive outlook in management performance by successfully turning a profit in the first half of 2022. It recorded sales of 28.9 billion KRW in 2021, achieving continuous growth at an average annual rate of 61% from 2019 to 2021. In the first half of this year, it achieved sales of 21 billion KRW and an operating profit of 1 billion KRW, marking the start of profit growth.

After listing, Millie’s Library plans to further expand book IP into various secondary contents. Following the example of the bestseller “Welcome to Hyunamdong Bookstore,” which originated from Millie’s Library, it plans to spread book IPs that received positive responses from Millie’s Library subscribers into various secondary contents such as audiobooks, while maximizing synergy with KT Media affiliates and utilizing them in multiple ways.

Seo Youngtaek, CEO of Millie’s Library, said, “As a result of focusing on making the daily lives of everyone who needs reading valuable and enjoyable, we have gained subscribers’ trust and grown into the largest reading platform in Korea,” adding, “We will lead growth based on coexistence with the publishing industry by forming a win-win structure with authors and publishers.” He also expressed his ambition, saying, “Through synergy with the KT Group, we will infinitely utilize original IP based on books and become a company loved by all generations.”