WantedLab IPO price set at 35,000 KRW... Demand forecast competition rate 1504:1

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] WantedLab Inc., the operator of the AI-based recruitment platform 'Wanted,' announced on the 30th that it has finalized the public offering price at the upper end of the desired price band of 35,000 KRW during the demand forecast conducted for institutional investors on the 26th and 27th.

A total of 1,597 institutional investors participated in this demand forecast, recording a competition rate of 1,504 to 1. WantedLab explained that about 99% of the participating institutions submitted public offering prices at or above the upper limit of the desired range, and thus, to decide a market-friendly public offering price, the final price was set at the upper end of the existing desired price band (28,000 to 35,000 KRW), confirming a total public offering amount of 25.6 billion KRW.

This is analyzed as a reflection of the high evaluation of WantedLab’s unique data, AI recruitment matching technology based on it, and the company’s future growth potential.

Founded in 2015, WantedLab quickly entered the recruitment market by launching the recruitment platform 'Wanted' with a 'referral hiring' business model. Currently, it provides AI matching recruitment services based on more than 2.2 million real-time matching result data and has expanded into five Asian countries including Korea. Notably, WantedLab uniquely secures data from application to final acceptance and up to three months of employment, which is a competitive advantage exclusive to Wanted.

With a differentiated business model that generates revenue through large-scale 'pay-per-hire' charges, sales have more than doubled annually from 3.4 billion KRW in 2018 to 14.7 billion KRW in 2020. Last year, it surpassed 10 billion KRW in sales for the first time since its establishment, and this year it continues its steep performance growth. Sales in the first quarter of this year increased by 93% year-on-year to 5.7 billion KRW, and operating profit turned positive at 400 million KRW.

Lee Bok-gi, CEO of WantedLab, said, "We thank the institutional investors who showed interest in WantedLab and participated in the demand forecast," adding, "After listing, WantedLab will continue to strive for users’ career growth, provide diversified HR solutions to companies, and become a globally recognized company."

Meanwhile, WantedLab will be listed on the KOSDAQ market on August 11 after a general subscription on August 2-3. General subscribers participating in the public 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 public offering price.

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