Krafton selects 5 underwriters to seek IPO in 2021

Krafton said Tuesday it has designated five underwriters to publicly list the company in 2021.

According to the South Korean game company best known for the shooter game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Mirae Asset Daewoo is the lead underwriter while co-underwriters include Credit Suisse Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities, JP Morgan and NH Investment & Securities.

“Our goal is to list the company in Korea next year. After selecting underwriters, we will make speed for the process,” a Krafton official said.

Last month, Krafton announced that it would merge with its wholly owned subsidiary PUBG to consolidate its financial structure before an initial public offering. Although PUBG is the subsidiary, its revenue and operating profit account for the bulk of Krafton’s figures.

In the first half of this year, Krafton recorded revenue of 10.3 billion won ($9.1 million) and an operating loss of 51.4 billion won. When consolidated with PUBG, the figures spike to revenue of 887.2 billion won and an operating profit of 513.7 billion won.

If Krafton and PUBG were to go public separately, Krafton would receive dividends from PUBG. However, by going public after merging with PUBG, Krafton can have greater control over cash thanks to PUBG’s strong performance.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)