Delicious, a K-fashion company, has set its initial public offering (IPO) price at 7,000 won ahead of its listing on the KOSDAQ. The price corresponds to the top of the indicative price band, reflecting aggressive bidding amid favorable assessments of the company's core platform competitiveness and growth potential.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 31st, Delicious conducted a demand forecast survey targeting institutional investors from the 23rd to the 29th of this month. The indicative price band presented by the company and its lead underwriter, Korea Investment & Securities, was 5,000 to 7,000 won, and Delicious said it would set the offering price at 7,000 won on this day. A total of 441 domestic and foreign institutions participated in the demand forecast, recording a simple competition ratio of 184.06 to 1.
Even amid heightened volatility in the KOSDAQ market recently, most institutional investors reportedly bid at or above the top of the band. Of the volume submitted in the demand forecast (303,699,500 shares), 71.33% bet at or above the top of the band. Among the 73 foreign institutional investors, 72 also assessed the fair price of Delicious at or above the top of the band.
However, most participating institutions did not commit to long-term investment. Of the 441 institutions, 436 did not pledge mandatory lock-up commitments. On a subscribed-volume basis, only 0.1% (308,000 shares) pledged not to sell shares for a minimum of 15 days after listing. The mandatory lock-up ratio based on subscribed volume was the lowest among companies newly listed on the KOSDAQ this year.
The offering funds Delicious will secure amount to 15.4 billion won. The company said it would use the proceeds for platform enhancement and new service development, marketing investment to expand into global markets, and entry into the fashion-related SaaS business. Delicious plans to conduct general subscriptions over two business days starting August 3, before listing on the KOSDAQ on August 12. Based on the confirmed offering price, the expected market capitalization is about 153.2 billion won.
