Employees of HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co., during the company’s listing ceremony at the Korea Exchange in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. HD Hyundai Marine, a ship repair company, jumped as much as 45% in its South Korea trading debut after a 742.3 billion won ($547 million) initial public offering that was priced at the top of a range and met strong demand.
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Shares of maintenance and repair firm HD Hyundai Marine Solution nearly doubled in their trading debut Wednesday, marking a strong start to South Korea’s largest IPO since January 2022.
Shares traded as high as 166,100 South Korean won ($121.59) apiece, representing a 99.1% surge from the IPO price of 83,400 won.
The ship-repair unit of South Korea’s largest shipping conglomerate HD Hyundai Group sold 8.9 million shares in the initial public offering. The IPO totaled 742.26 billion won, valuing the newly public unit around 3.71 trillion won at the offering price.
Half — or 4.45 million—of the IPO shares are newly issued.
The company’s IPO showed strong investor interest, with both the institutional and retail offering oversubscribed by over 200 times combined.
The Wall Street Journal, citing HD Hyundai officials, reported that the parent conglomerate, which held a 62% stake in its unit ahead of the IPO, will continue to be in control.
Meanwhile, KKR, the second-largest shareholder since 2021, plans to gradually reduce its stake, which currently stands at 38%.