Corporate Value of Venture Investment Companies Reaches 276 Trillion Won Over the Past 7 Years

435 Companies with Corporate Value Exceeding 100 Billion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The total corporate value of 5,556 companies that received venture investments over the past seven years has surpassed 276 trillion won. On the 24th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Kwon Chil-seung, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced this after analyzing the corporate value status of companies that received venture investments from 2015 to last year. Corporate value is a concept highlighted recently as unicorn companies lead the industrial ecosystem, serving as an indicator to understand the current status of the domestic venture ecosystem and the growth potential of companies that received venture investments.

This corporate value analysis targeted 5,556 companies whose corporate value could be confirmed, excluding project investments such as films where corporate value was difficult to ascertain, out of 7,226 companies that received venture investments over the past seven years. The analysis showed that the total corporate value of the 5,556 companies that received venture investments was 276.2307 trillion won. Among these, excluding listed and exited companies, the corporate value of 4,453 unlisted companies still maintaining investments was 173.9658 trillion won.

◆Corporate value of venture-invested companies second only to Samsung Electronics = The corporate value of about 174 trillion won for unlisted companies maintaining investments corresponds to approximately 39.0% of the total market capitalization of all KOSDAQ-listed companies, which is 446.297 trillion won. It is about 14 times larger than Celltrion Healthcare, the top KOSDAQ market cap company. It is also second only to Samsung Electronics, the top KOSPI market cap company, and 1.8 times larger than SK Hynix, the second largest.

Looking at the corporate value at the time of investment for the 5,556 companies that received venture investments by size as of the end of 2021, 435 companies (7.8%) had a corporate value of 100 billion won or more, 2,532 companies (45.6%) had between 10 billion and 100 billion won, and 2,589 companies (46.6%) had less than 10 billion won.

The average corporate value of companies that received venture investments maintained a level of around 30 to 40 billion won annually but increased nearly twofold to about 80.7 billion won last year, which is 38.4 billion won higher than the previous year. This is interpreted as a result of the venture investment amount reaching an all-time high last year, enriching the market with funds and leading to higher valuations of companies that received venture investments.

By business age, there was a tendency for older companies to have higher average corporate values and higher multiples of corporate value relative to investment amounts. The average corporate value was 101 billion won for late-stage startups, 51.9 billion won for mid-stage companies, and 30.7 billion won for early-stage companies. The multiples of corporate value relative to investment amounts were 22.0 times for late-stage companies, 13.3 times for mid-stage, and 8.5 times for early-stage companies. This is analyzed as late-stage investments typically being follow-up or continuous investments, indicating that the company continues to grow, naturally increasing corporate value. It was also confirmed that it takes an average of nine years for a startup to reach a corporate value of 100 billion won.

By industry and sector, the gaming, blockchain, and smart business & finance sectors showed high multiples of corporate value relative to investment amounts, indicating corporate value and future growth potential. In 2021, gaming companies had the highest average corporate value at 407.8 billion won, followed by bio & medical at 93.8 billion won, and ICT services at 81.6 billion won. The multiple of corporate value relative to investment amounts was also highest for gaming companies at 169.9 times, followed by ICT services at 24.0 times and distribution & services at 21.1 times.

The average corporate value of companies in the 4th industrial revolution sectors was also evaluated at about 1.9 times higher in 2021 compared to 2020, rising from 42.7 billion won to 81.4 billion won. Among these, blockchain companies had the highest average corporate value at 957.3 billion won, followed by fintech at 221.7 billion won. This result is interpreted as reflecting recent trends such as the future utilization and development potential of the blockchain sector and the boom in platform industries. In the non-face-to-face sector, smart business & finance companies had the highest average corporate value at 263.6 billion won. The multiple of corporate value relative to investment amounts was also highest for smart business & finance at 61.3 times.

◆435 companies with corporate value over 100 billion won = Among companies that received venture investments, those with a corporate value of 100 billion won or more increased by 116 companies compared to 2020, totaling 435 companies. Among these, 255 companies are maintaining investments after excluding those that have been listed, had principal recovered, or belong to large business groups (mutual investment restricted business groups). Of these, 243 companies, excluding 12 companies with corporate values over 1 trillion won, have the potential to become unicorn companies through follow-up investments. The number of companies evaluated with a corporate value of 1 trillion won or more at the time of investment increased more than twofold from 11 last year to 23 this year. The 18 unicorn companies announced by the Ministry exclude those that are listed or belong to large business groups (mutual investment restricted business groups), so there is a numerical difference. By industry, among companies with corporate values over 100 billion won, the bio & medical sector had the most with 133 companies (30.6%), followed by ICT services with 104 companies (23.9%), and distribution & services with 73 companies (16.8%).

By region, among the 435 companies with corporate values over 100 billion won, about 80.2% are distributed in the metropolitan area: 232 companies (53.3%) in Seoul, 104 companies (23.9%) in Gyeonggi, and 13 companies (3.0%) in Incheon. Outside the metropolitan area, Daejeon had the highest number of companies with corporate values over 100 billion won, with 30 companies (6.9%).

Park Yong-soon, Venture Innovation Policy Officer at the Ministry, said, "Corporate value analysis is meaningful in indirectly gauging the proportion of innovative ventures and startups in our economy by assessing the value of unlisted companies, whose information is limited compared to the listed market, and by comparing industries to identify sectors that will stand out in the future." He added, "Since there are more than 200 companies with corporate values over 100 billion won that have a high potential to become unicorns, we will strive to build a venture ecosystem so that these companies can become unicorns and lead a pioneering economy."

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