Kakao Games Announces IPO, "We Will Leap Forward as a Global Comprehensive Game Company"

A lineup spanning mobile and PC, creating 'synergy' through Kakao platform
The current difficulties due to COVID-19 are actually opportunities... "We will stand out on the overseas stage"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Kakao Games, considered one of the biggest IPO candidates in this year's market, is set to be listed on the KOSDAQ market. The company aims to leverage the 'national messenger' KakaoTalk platform to offer a variety of games and exert strong influence.

On the 26th, Kakao Games held an online press conference to announce its IPO and future business strategies. Namgoong Hoon, CEO of Kakao Games, stated, "Kakao Games is the only domestic game company that owns a platform encompassing both mobile and PC online games. With proven publishing capabilities through titles like Battlegrounds, Path of Exile, and Guardian Tales, as well as in-house development skills, we plan to actively target overseas markets and grow into a leading global game company from Korea."

Since its launch in 2016, Kakao Games has shown steady growth. In the first half of this year, it recorded sales of 203 billion KRW and operating profit of 28.7 billion KRW, marking increases of 8.2% and 63.7% respectively compared to the same period last year. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past three years since 2017 has reached 57%. Guardian Tales, released last month, is already enjoying commercial success, and new titles such as the PC online MMORPG 'Elyon' scheduled for release this year and the mobile MMORPG 'Odin' planned for next year are lined up.

CEO Namgoong explained, "Although many game developments worldwide were delayed or halted due to COVID-19, Korea has maintained relatively stable progress, which we see as an opportunity to stand out globally. After the listing, we plan to acquire additional developers through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to strengthen our in-house development capabilities, while also servicing promising games overseas to compete on the world stage."

Through this IPO, Kakao Games will manage up to 384 billion KRW in public offering funds based on the upper band. These funds will be used to enhance its status as a comprehensive game company in both domestic and international markets. Specifically, the funds will be allocated to ▲strengthening development capabilities, ▲securing a lineup including new intellectual properties (IP), and ▲investing to expand global markets.

Meanwhile, Kakao Games will conduct a demand forecast targeting domestic and international institutional investors from the 26th to the 27th of this month to finalize the public offering price. A total of 16 million new shares will be issued during the offering. The expected price band is between 20,000 and 24,000 KRW. Following this, subscription for public shares will take place on the 1st and 2nd of next month, with the KOSDAQ listing expected to be completed within September. The lead underwriters are Korea Investment & Securities and Samsung Securities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.