WantedLab to Go Public on August 11 with a Total Offering of 730,000 Shares

Annual Sales Growth More Than Doubled Through 'Recruitment AI Matching Service'
Hope Band 28,000~35,000 Won... Redemption Rights Granted

On the 26th, Lee Bok-gi, CEO of WantedLab, held an online press conference for the company's initial public offering (IPO), explaining WantedLab's competitiveness, future vision, and business direction.
[Photo by WantedLab]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] WantedLab Co., Ltd., the operator of the AI-based recruitment platform 'Wanted,' held an online IPO press conference ahead of its KOSDAQ listing scheduled for the 11th of next month, revealing the company's vision and post-listing blueprint. WantedLab will conduct a demand forecast for institutions on July 26-27.

Founded in 2015, WantedLab quickly entered the recruitment market by launching the recruitment platform 'Wanted' based on the 'referral hiring' business model. WantedLab's competitive edge lies in uniquely possessing data from application to acceptance and retention in Korea. The core advantage is that AI recruitment matching based on this data increases the acceptance rate by four times compared to general applications. Currently, it provides recruitment services based on over 2.2 million real-time matching result data and operates in five Asian countries, including Korea.

WantedLab's revenue has more than doubled annually, from 3.4 billion KRW in 2018 to 14.7 billion KRW in 2020. Especially with the spread of non-face-to-face recruitment and small-scale on-demand hiring culture due to COVID-19, last year marked the first time since its establishment that revenue exceeded 10 billion KRW. In the first quarter of this year, revenue rose 93% year-on-year to 5.7 billion KRW, and operating profit turned positive at 400 million KRW, maintaining a steep upward performance trend.

WantedLab is enhancing its 'AI matching recruitment service' based on acceptance data and has secured growth momentum on the global stage through business expansion. It has differentiated business models including 'Wanted Gigs,' a platform dedicated to freelancer matching; 'WantedPlus,' which offers conferences and education for users' career growth; 'KREDIT JOB,' providing salary information for 420,000 companies; and 'Commonspace,' offering smart HR management solutions to companies.

Through this public offering, WantedLab plans to offer a total of 730,000 shares. The expected price band is 28,000 to 35,000 KRW per share, with a total expected offering amount of 20.4 to 25.6 billion KRW. After determining the offering price through demand forecasting, general subscription will be conducted on August 2-3. General subscribers participating in the offering will be granted a redemption right for up to six months from the listing date, with the exercise price set at 90% of the offering price.

CEO Lee Bok-gi stated, "Through this IPO, we were able to introduce investors to WantedLab's differentiated business model and core competitiveness of AI matching recruitment service," adding, "Even after listing, WantedLab aims to be recognized not only domestically but also globally by providing essential value in unprecedented ways in line with our mission to 'make the career journey happy.'"

He also emphasized, "The funds raised through the listing will be used for mergers and acquisitions to rapidly expand business areas, development of new and overseas businesses, and securing R&D talent," and added, "Through this listing, we will leap beyond recruitment to become a 'life career platform' company."

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