Rumors that Krafton is preparing to enter the stock exchange have been circulating since the beginning of the year. But now the owners of PUBG themselves have announced — they have indeed applied for an IPO. According to the results of the placement, the company is going to attract 5.6 trillion rubles ($5 billion).
In total, Korean developers plan to sell over 10 million shares at a price of 450 thousand — 557 thousand apiece. Note that this is a preliminary price. Krafton will determine the final price tag by July 9.
As Bloomberg clarifies, the company’s entry into the stock exchange may become the largest in the history of South Korea. Before that, the record was for Coupang, which in March 2021 raised $4.6 billion during an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. And Samsung Life Insurance could boast of the most successful internal listing — in 2010 it raised $4.3 billion.
According to Krafton’s announcement, its IPO will take place in the second half of July (according to Bloomberg, July 22). After that, the Korean company’s valuation will be able to reach about 28 trillion rubles ($25 billion). This is below the previously reported estimate of $27.2 billion.
It is worth noting that after the release of Krafton on the stock exchange, the founder of the company Chang Byung-gyu (Chang Byung-gyu) will remain the largest shareholder. He will own 14% of the shares. Another 13.2% of the shares will remain with Tencent (through a subsidiary).
PUBG owners’ revenue for the first quarter of this year was ₩461 billion ($413 million), and net profit was ₩194 billion ($174 million). The lion’s share of revenue (₩413 billion or $370 million) Krafton brought foreign sales.