This article was published on July 31, 2026 at 15:20 on the capital market compass "Signal."
Amid a broadly sluggish initial public offering (IPO) market this year, IBK Investment & Securities has been steadily building a track record, showing a different profile from last year. In the first half of this year alone, the firm filed a total of seven preliminary reviews for KOSDAQ listings and received three approvals, expanding its presence in the IPO market.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 31st, IBK Investment & Securities filed a total of seven KOSDAQ preliminary reviews with the Korea Exchange in the first half of this year. This is the highest IPO performance in IBK Investment & Securities' history. Compared with last year, when it managed only the listing of Korea PIM, the firm is making strides this year.
Specifically, the filings consisted of five new listings (K&S I&C, HLGenomics, Brils, Hana Aerodynamics, and KMF) and two mergers through special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) absorption listings (Luxco and Celltrix). Excluding HLGenomics, all were sole underwritings by IBK Investment & Securities.
Of the total seven preliminary review filings, three received approval from the exchange and have either completed their market debut or are in the process of the IPO procedure. HLGenomics listed on the KOSDAQ market on the 24th of this month, while K&S I&C and Brils plan to conduct public subscriptions next month after demand forecasting.
Managing a listing requires performing various roles ranging from identifying promising companies, structuring an equity story (listing strategy), and responding to reviews, to designing the offering structure. As such, the more track record accumulates, the greater the firm's execution capability becomes. In particular, the industry consensus is that expanding the number of filings and approvals is an achievement that is possible only when execution capability across corporate finance provides support.
In addition, as performance in the IPO market serves as a foundation for expanding the revenue base of the IB division, it is leading to the accumulation of a mid- to long-term pipeline. IBK Investment & Securities aims to serve as a growth ladder by actively managing not only KOSDAQ but also KONEX listings, broadening its support scope to early-stage and small and medium-sized enterprises with low access to the capital market. In fact, it was the only firm to proceed with a KONEX listing filing as of the first half of this year.
"We will go beyond being a financial company that simply supplies investment funds and play a role in accompanying the entire process by which innovative companies grow and settle into the market," an official at IBK Investment & Securities said. "We plan to support small and medium-sized venture companies in entering the capital market and further strengthen our competitiveness within the IPO market."
