SK Bioscience IPO Subscription Attracts 63 Trillion Won... Record-Breaking Success

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] SK Bioscience, a vaccine specialist company, has rewritten the record of success by attracting 63 trillion KRW in its general public offering subscription.

On the 10th, the lead underwriter NH Investment & Securities announced that the subscription deposit for SK Bioscience’s public offering reached 63.6197 trillion KRW, with an overall competition rate of 335.36 to 1. This surpassed last year’s record set by Big Hit Entertainment (58.4237 trillion KRW) as well as the subscription deposit record of 58.5543 trillion KRW set by Kakao Games, marking the highest record ever.

NH Investment & Securities, which was allocated the largest portion as the lead underwriter (allocation ratio 37%), recorded a subscription competition rate of 334 to 1. Following were Korea Investment & Securities (allocation ratio 23%) at 372 to 1, Mirae Asset Daewoo (22%) at 326 to 1, and SK Securities (8%) at 225 to 1.

Samsung Securities, with an allocation of 5%, showed the highest competition rate of 443 to 1, while Hana Financial Investment, also allocated 5%, recorded a competition rate of 285 to 1.

In the days leading up to the subscription, new account openings surged at the underwriting securities firms, and on the day of subscription, branches were busy with customers trying to open accounts. Some underwriters experienced delays in internet subscription applications in the morning due to a sudden influx of applicants accessing the system simultaneously.

A method was introduced where half of the shares allocated to securities firms were evenly distributed to all subscribers, lowering the threshold for subscription amounts. This led to subscribers mobilizing multiple family accounts to participate in the subscription.

This subscription success is attributed to it being the largest public offering of the year, combined with increased short-term liquidity due to recent stock market adjustments, and the introduction of the even distribution method as part of the public offering system reform. The even distribution method divides a portion of the public offering shares equally according to the number of accounts, allocating more than 50% of the shares for general investors through this method, while the remainder is allocated proportionally based on subscription deposits as before.

In the case of SK Bioscience, it was calculated that by paying the minimum deposit of 325,000 KRW, one share could be received. However, there are concerns that at Samsung Securities and Hana Financial Investment, where the number of subscription applications far exceeded the allocated shares, some subscribers might not receive even one share despite paying the minimum deposit.

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