Krafton lowers IPO price amid overvaluation concern

South Korean game developer Krafton has decided to lower its initial public offering price range ahead of its market debut on the country’s benchmark Kospi next month, following criticism from both financial authorities and market watchers saying that its valuation is “overrated.”

The company made some corrections on its prospectus Thursday via DART -- the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board -- by reducing a target price band and the number of new shares to issue.

Krafton’s new target price band for the IPO stands at between 400,000 won ($353.20) and 498,000 won, nearly 50,000 won lower from its previous target price range of 458,000 won and 557,000 won. It has also changed the plan to issue some 8.65 million shares, instead of floating 10 million shares.

Under the revised plan, the game developer aims to raise up to 4.4 trillion won through the IPO proceeds. The size of the deal has been much smaller, compared to the firm’s earlier hope of raising up to a record-high 5.6 trillion won.

The Krafton IPO was highly anticipated to be the nation’s largest ever -- a title that Samsung Life Insurance’s 2010 IPO of 4.9 trillion won still holds. But the game developer’s valuation was also questioned since it was based on a price-to-earnings ratio of comparable companies, which included Walt Disney and the Warner Music Group.

The Financial Supervisory Service ordered the game developer to correct its prospectus last week, while requesting the company to clarify how it has decided the IPO price to give further information to potential investors.

The IPO schedules have been delayed as well. The book building process for institutional investors will take place during the July 14-July 27 period to set the exact share price. The retail tranche is set to be held on August 2-3. Mirae Asset Securities is the lead underwriter of the IPO deal.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)