South Korea’s K Bank announces IPO plan worth up to $732 million

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s online lender K Bank has announced a planned initial public offering to raise up to 984 billion won ($731.64 million), in what is expected to be one of the biggest stock market debuts this year.

The company aims to sell 82 million shares, made up of 41 million newly issued shares and 41 million existing shares, at a price of between 9,500 won and 12,000 won per share.

The listing is slated for Oct. 30, according to a regulatory filing by the company issued on Monday.

The IPO would value the company at up to 5 trillion won, based on its disclosure of 376 million shares in a filing last month.

The online bank posted an operating profit of 86.7 billion won in the first half of 2024, more than triple the amount in the same period last year.

K Bank sought to apply for an IPO in 2022 but the plan was later scrapped amid worsening market conditions.

The lender was launched in 2017 as South Korea’s first internet-only bank and it had more than 10 million customers as of early this year, according to the company.