K Bank Raises 1.25 Trillion KRW in Capital Increase... Largest Ever for an Internet Bank

Board Meeting and Resolution on the 26th
Approximately 192.29 Million Shares

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] K Bank has raised capital of about 1.2 trillion KRW, the largest ever for a single internet bank.

On the 26th, K Bank held a board meeting and announced the resolution to proceed with a paid-in capital increase of approximately 1.2499 trillion KRW (about 192.29 million shares).

Of the total newly issued shares, capital increase worth 524.9 billion KRW will be conducted through a shareholder allocation method. New shares will be allocated according to each shareholder’s stake as of the record date on the 10th of next month, and the process will be completed by having major shareholders subscribe to any unsubscribed shares.

The remaining 725 billion KRW will be allocated to new investors through third-party allotment. Northeast Asia’s largest private equity fund (PEF) MBK Partners and global private equity firm Bain Capital each subscribed 200 billion KRW (about 30.77 million shares), a private equity fund with MG Saemaeul Geumgo as the lead investor (LP) subscribed 150 billion KRW (about 23.08 million shares), and a private equity fund formed by JS Private Equity and Shinhan Alternative Investment Management as co-general partners (Co-GP) subscribed 125 billion KRW (about 19.23 million shares).

Com2uS, a leader in the mobile gaming market, participated with 50 billion KRW (about 7.69 million shares) and plans to create various business opportunities to enhance synergy between game-based content business and finance.

Upon completion of the capital increase, K Bank’s paid-in capital will more than double from 901.7 billion KRW to 2.1515 trillion KRW. K Bank explained that with the strengthened capital base, it will accelerate new product and service development and cooperation with large platforms.

Based on this capital increase, K Bank plans to further expand its IT infrastructure and enhance its credit scoring system (CSS) in line with the purpose of launching an internet-only bank, thereby expanding loan supply to low- and medium-credit borrowers. It also plans to develop new products such as synergy products and services with KT Group to leap forward as a digital financial platform.

Seohosung, CEO of K Bank, said, “This large-scale capital increase is the result of market recognition of K Bank’s innovation capabilities and future growth potential,” adding, “We will further strengthen the competitiveness of our core loan and deposit business, accelerate partnerships with other companies and expand group synergies to grow into a financial platform optimized for the digital business environment.”

The issue price per share for this paid-in capital increase is set at 6,500 KRW, 30% higher than the par value, and the payment date is scheduled for the 29th of next month.

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