J.O, IPO Retry... "Urgent Expansion Investment Needed to Secure Market Lead"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Carbon nanotube company J-O is resuming its listing on the KOSDAQ market.

J-O announced on the 25th that it will issue 4 million new shares for its initial public offering (IPO). The proposed price range per share is 10,000 to 13,000 KRW. Based on the offering price, the market capitalization is estimated between 313.6 billion and 407.4 billion KRW. Demand forecasting will take place over two days from February 1 to 2 next year, and the offering price will be finalized. The expected listing date is mid-February, with Korea Investment & Securities appointed as the lead underwriter.

A representative from the lead underwriter Korea Investment & Securities explained, "The market capitalization at the time of the offering is discounted by more than 30% compared to before," adding, "This enhances the investment attractiveness." They continued, "The free float ratio excluding employee stock ownership (locked for one year after listing) is about 26.5%," and added, "This is lower than the previous planned free float ratio of about 37.5%, reducing the overhang risk immediately after listing."

J-O plans to raise up to 52 billion KRW through the offering. The funds will be used for investment to expand production capacity (CAPA) of carbon nanotube (CNT) products and for product research and development (R&D).

J-O CEO Deukju Kang stated, "Large-scale facility investment to preempt the rapidly growing carbon nanotube market is an urgent task that cannot be postponed," and added, "After listing, we will leap forward as a top-tier company in the carbon nanotube field."

J-O is a plant engineering company that provides design, procurement, and construction (EPC) related services including process design, basic and detailed design, project management, and commissioning across various industrial sectors, based on its independently developed technology and production facilities for carbon nanotubes used as conductive additives for secondary batteries. The company has conducted research and development on carbon nanotubes for a long time since 2003. In 2006, it succeeded in mass production of carbon nanotubes for the first time in Korea. Currently, it possesses proprietary production technology capable of controlling diameter, length, and shape, which determine the quality of carbon nanotube materials.

To proactively respond to the demand for carbon nanotubes used as conductive additives for secondary batteries, J-O has been expanding its production capacity since last year. The expansion of a 1,000-ton scale factory will be completed by the end of this year. Further expansion to an annual capacity of over 5,000 tons is planned by 2025.

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