Coupang’s IPO (public disclosure) is evaluated to have sparked a new wind in the startup industry, which had been stagnating for a while due to the collapse of IT bubble after the success story of first-generation IT ventures such as Naver, Daum, Nexon, and NCsoft. With Coupang solidifying its position as a leader, interest is growing as to who will take over Coupang’s Baton among emerging IT companies.
![Seulah Kim, CEO of Market Curly [사진 제공 : 컬리]](https://i0.wp.com/file.mk.co.kr/meet/neds/2021/03/image_readtop_2021_241312_16156890674572319.jpg?w=454&ssl=1)
Seulah Kim, CEO of Market Curly [사진 제공 : 컬리]Market Curly hits the US stock market… Expecting a ransom of KRW 1 trillion
According to the IT industry on the 12th, Market Curly, who has established an independent domain in the domestic e-commerce market with Coupang, is seeking an overseas IPO.
Seul-ah Kim, CEO of Curly, a market-curly operator, recently announced plans for listing within this year through an in-house announcement. Market Curly is not only insisting on foreign IPOs, but is looking at both domestic and foreign markets and opening possibilities anywhere, but the Wall Street Journal of the United States reported that Kim is in mind to list on the New York Stock Exchange like Coupang.
Market Curly grew rapidly in 2015 in the e-commerce market focused on’low price’ with premium products and early morning delivery delivered the morning after orders. The delivery of fresh food, which was considered a weakness in the e-commerce industry so far, was delivered in one day by direct delivery to the region, and it was able to grow rapidly in a short time.
As of this month, the number of Market Curly members was about 7 million, with sales of only 2.9 billion won in 2014, the first year of the business, recording 428.9 billion won in 2019. Last year, as online shopping became popular due to the spread of Corona 19, annual sales are estimated to exceed 1 trillion won. This is an increase of about twice compared to the previous year.
The Wall Street Journal predicts the market value of Market Curly is about 1 trillion won ($880 million). However, as Coupang recorded a ransom of 100 trillion won, there is a possibility that Market Curly’s corporate value would also increase. In this IPO, Coupang had a market capitalization (PSR) of 5.4 times compared to sales. Assuming Market Curly’s last year’s sales amounted to 1 trillion won, if it receives a valuation at the level of Coupang, the corporate value could be 5 trillion won. However, there is a view that Market Curly’s sales are one-third of Coupang’s, making it difficult to be a comparison target in terms of economies of scale.
An official in the IT industry said, “Marketcurly’s sales last year seem to have more than doubled compared to the previous year, while the scale of operating losses is expected to be similar to that of the previous year.” Also, it is highly likely to show high future value in the market by choosing continuous investment rather than immediate performance improvement.”
Yanolja 5, Soka 1… Timon and Musinsa are also waiting for IPO
The lodging platform Yanolja is also facing an IPO this year. With the prolonged COVID-19 outbreak, overseas travel demand was absorbed into Korea, which provided an opportunity for Yanolja. Moreover, with the start of the corona19 vaccination around the world, expectations for a recovery in the travel industry are growing.
Yanolja is expected to benefit the most in the global travel and accommodation market in the post-corona era. Already in 2019, when receiving Series D investment from Singapore Investment Authority (GIC) and Booking Holdings, it has become a “unicorn company” with an enterprise value of 1 trillion won recognized. The industry predicts that sales, which was 245 billion won at the time, doubled despite the corona 19 incident last year. Currently, Yanolja’s enterprise value is said to be around 5 trillion won.
In particular, as Airbnb of the same industry was listed on NASDAQ last year, its corporate value increased to 120 trillion won, raising expectations for listing Yanolja. Recently, there are observations that the promotion of listing is imminent, with 600,000 shares of the company’s stock held by Soo-jin Lee and C&D CEO Lim Sang-gyu paid free to all employees. With this decision, Yanolja employees will each receive 10 million won worth of company stock. If Yanolja succeeds in an IPO within this year, the value of its employees’ shares also rises.
Soka, a vehicle sharing platform, is also pursuing listing. When Socar received an investment of 60 billion won from SG Private Equity (PE) and Songhyun Investment last year, its corporate value was evaluated over 1 trillion won, and Mirae Asset Daewoo and Samsung Securities have already been selected as co-listing supervisors. Socar’s sales amounted to 2567 billion won in 2019 and its operating loss was 71.6 billion won.
The size of the domestic mobility market was 8 trillion won as of last year, and it is considered as a core industry in the future enough to grow to 15 trillion won by the government’s coming 2030. Based on a strong loyal customer base made of’Tada’, which ended its service last year, Socar is continuing to engage in new businesses such as used car sales and proxy driving services.
In addition, Timon, who succeeded in improving its monthly surplus, and Musinsa, a fashion e-commerce platform, are also mentioned as candidates for the second coupang position.
An official in the IT industry said, “The second-generation IT venture that emerged after IT Bubble has a characteristic of rapid growth in a short period of time centering on unique platform services.” .
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