NewsPress Release
January 18, 2018
Kakao Successfully Attracts USD 1 Billion in Foreign Investment
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[Seoul, South Korea – Jan. 18, 2018] Kakao Corp. (KRX 035720, CEO Ji-Hoon Rim) today announced that the company newly procured USD 1 billion in foreign investments.
Following an official announcement on December 15th, 2017, Kakao held roadshows in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, London, Boston, San Francisco with the goal of raising investment by issuing global depository receipts (GDR) to overseas institutional investors. With potential investors showing overwhelming interest, investor meetings totaled 55 sessions, instead of the originally planned 36. Kakao will now proceed with the GDR issue process and the new shares will be listed on the Singapore Exchange in early February.
Based on closing prices for January 17th, Kakao has priced the GDR offering, a total of 8,261,731 new shares, at KRW 129,004 (USD 121.04) per share, which represents a discount of 3.7%. Kakao’s procurement of 1 billion dollar foreign investment via an overseas stock exchange is the largest for a Korean company in the past ten years, and the 3.7% discount rate is a significantly low figure for such deals.
“Foreign institutional investor recognized the growth potential in Kakao’s content-based global expansion plan, best exemplified by Piccoma’s rapid success in Japan,” said Sean Park, Kakao’s chief strategy officer. Park added, “Kakao will focus on M&As that can deliver maximum synergy with Kakao’s existing business while offering strong potential for growth and profitability in order to maximize investor return”.
Kakao is expected to pursue M&As with global content platforms, with particular focus in mobile content businesses, including game, comics, music and video. The company will also seek out investment opportunities involving artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. (End)
Following an official announcement on December 15th, 2017, Kakao held roadshows in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, London, Boston, San Francisco with the goal of raising investment by issuing global depository receipts (GDR) to overseas institutional investors. With potential investors showing overwhelming interest, investor meetings totaled 55 sessions, instead of the originally planned 36. Kakao will now proceed with the GDR issue process and the new shares will be listed on the Singapore Exchange in early February.
Based on closing prices for January 17th, Kakao has priced the GDR offering, a total of 8,261,731 new shares, at KRW 129,004 (USD 121.04) per share, which represents a discount of 3.7%. Kakao’s procurement of 1 billion dollar foreign investment via an overseas stock exchange is the largest for a Korean company in the past ten years, and the 3.7% discount rate is a significantly low figure for such deals.
“Foreign institutional investor recognized the growth potential in Kakao’s content-based global expansion plan, best exemplified by Piccoma’s rapid success in Japan,” said Sean Park, Kakao’s chief strategy officer. Park added, “Kakao will focus on M&As that can deliver maximum synergy with Kakao’s existing business while offering strong potential for growth and profitability in order to maximize investor return”.
Kakao is expected to pursue M&As with global content platforms, with particular focus in mobile content businesses, including game, comics, music and video. The company will also seek out investment opportunities involving artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. (End)
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