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The headquarters of K-Bank. (Photo: K-Bank) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] K-Bank, the internet-only bank that recorded its best-ever performance last year, is once again pushing for an initial public offering (IPO). This comes just two months after it announced the withdrawal of its IPO plans in January.
According to the financial sector on Wednesday, K-Bank held a board meeting and passed a resolution to move forward with the IPO.
The decision to resume the IPO is largely seen as a move to properly assess its corporate value, given its record-breaking performance last year. K-Bank achieved a net profit of 128.1 billion KRW in 2023, which is ten times the net profit of 12.8 billion KRW in 2022. Additionally, the bank attracted 3.21 million new customers last year, bringing its total customer count to 12.74 million by the end of the year.
Previously, K-Bank had attempted to go public twice but had to withdraw both times. In 2022, it postponed its IPO in February due to concerns about weak investor sentiment. It then attempted again in August 2023, passing the preliminary review with the goal of launching the IPO by the end of October.
However, after the demand forecast results came in weaker than expected, the IPO was postponed to early this year but ultimately failed. The bank had planned to offer 82 million shares, with a total offering amount of 984 billion KRW, based on the upper range of the price forecast, and a market capitalization of 5.3 trillion KRW.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
