APR Raises Pre-IPO Funding with 700 Billion KRW Valuation

Global beauty tech company APR (CEO Kim Byung-hoon) has been recognized with a corporate valuation of 700 billion KRW and secured a pre-IPO equity investment worth 8 billion KRW, while announcing plans to strengthen its beauty device business capabilities based on this investment.

APR announced on the 13th through the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system that it has attracted a pre-IPO investment worth 8 billion KRW. Participants in this investment include NH-Suinvestment Innovation Growth M&A Investment Association, SJ Partners, which has continued investing in innovative companies, and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea.

APR is a global beauty tech company owning multiple brands such as Mediheal, AGE-R, Forment, Aprilskin, NERDY, and GlamD Bio. Among these brands, the growth of the home beauty care device ‘AGE-R,’ launched in 2021, has been particularly notable. APR’s beauty devices, including Derma EMS, U-Cera Deep Shot, ATS Air Shot, and Booster Healer, have achieved outstanding results, with cumulative sales reaching 700,000 units and revenue surpassing 150 billion KRW within approximately two years as of February.

The success of this investment attraction is attributed to the positive future business outlook that APR will achieve greater results on the global stage. Currently, APR sells about 200,000 beauty devices annually in markets including the United States, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It is expected that once sales channels in South America and Europe are developed, the annual expected global sales volume will increase significantly.

The company’s capability in innovative technology development is also evaluated as a factor that has increased APR’s corporate value. In January, APR opened the beauty device specialized research facility ‘ADC’ and has steadily developed innovative technologies, securing about 30 patents. Considering its R&D capabilities, including formulation research and clinical center operation for cosmetics that create synergy when sold with devices, as well as mobile app development, APR’s growth potential is regarded as very high.

APR plans to actively invest in and strengthen its beauty device business capabilities using the pre-IPO funds raised this time. In particular, it aims to internalize a ‘vertical process’ structure covering the entire process from beauty device planning and development to manufacturing and distribution, establishing a more stable and innovative product supply system.

An APR representative stated, “Through this investment, APR will lay the foundation to become a leading company in beauty device innovation and product supply capabilities,” adding, “We plan to continuously increase our corporate value beyond 700 billion KRW to the trillion KRW level.”

Meanwhile, APR is preparing for its listing with the goal of submitting a preliminary review in the third quarter, having selected Shinhan Investment Corp. as the lead underwriter for its IPO last November.