KakaoBank is set to raise 2.55 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in funds as it makes its public debut. This comes after the internet-only retail lender decided to value itself at the top of a marketed range. The company has made 65.45 million new shares available for sale, priced at 39,000 won ($33.94) apiece.
According to a filing last week, KakaoBank’s valuation will go up to 18.5 trillion won, making it South Korea’s most valuable retail lender, ahead of competitors KB Financial Group Inc. and Shinhan Financial Group Co.
As KakaoBank pursues its IPO, South Korean regulators continue to clamp down on exceedingly high valuations that cause much skepticism, along with concerns of such prices encouraging the formation of a stock market bubble.
Founded in 2016, KakaoBank was formed at a time when the South Korean government took to offering online banking permits to startups. KakaoBank’s parent company, Kakao Talk, is currently South Korea’s largest mobile messaging platform, serving over 46 million active users; a vast majority of the nation’s 51 million-strong population.
During a press briefing on July 20th, Yoon Ho-Young, the chief executive officer of KakaoBank, made the following statement: “Everything about us is different from other listed financial companies in a huge way, as we are in a new sector that did not exist before.”
