Celebrity chef Paik's franchise company soars in market debut

Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won’s franchise company Theborn Korea made a strong debut on the Kospi market Wednesday as investors endorsed his affordable food brands and his popularity grew globally, with a recent Netflix series giving further tailwind to his business.

Theborn Korea saw its shares traded as high as 58,100 won ($41.60) at the market open — a 70.9 percent jump compared to the 34,000 won the stock was priced at earlier in the week. That gave the company a valuation of around 850 billion won.

The value of shares held by Paik, the largest shareholder of Theborn Korea with a 60.78 stake, exceeds 525 billion won.

A lucrative start to trading was expected with institutions showing appetite when gauging demand for the share sale last month. The share price was set at 34,000 won, exceeding the upper end of its offering price.

Subscription for employee stock shares, however, hit a snag. The amount set aside for the employee stock purchase program was initially 600,000 shares, or 20 percent of the total offering. But only 212,266 shares were subscribed.

The low participation in the plan can be interpreted as employees having grim prospects for the company, as they have to hold the shares for at least one year.

“Even after listing, we will strive to coexist with franchisees as well as regional development and overseas market expansion to become a truly global restaurant company that grows together with everyone,” Paik said during a press conference for Theborn Korea’s IPO.

Established in 1994, the firm is engaged in a comprehensive food business including franchises, and food and beverage and sauce distribution. In 2023, it logged sales of 388.1 billion won and net profit was 19.3 billion won.

Having 25 brands under its roof, the firm operates approximately 2,900 franchise locations nationwide. Its signature brands include New Maul Restaurant, a Korean bistro focusing on traditional Korean barbecue; Hong Kong Banjum, which specializes in Korean-Chinese cuisine; and Paik’s Coffee, a coffee franchise renowned for its price competitiveness.

Paik made his name known globally by appearing on the Netflix series "Culinary Class Wars," which topped the global Netflix Top 10 Non-English TV Shows list. He also runs a YouTube channel that boasts over 6.4 million subscribers.