Socar Aims for $1.2B Valuation in Kospi IPO

South Korea’s car-sharing platform Socar is aiming for a $1.2 billion valuation in an August initial public offering (IPO) on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), where 4.55 million initial shares will be priced at 34,000-45,000 won, according to media reports on Monday (June 27).

The mobility company also launched a business car rental program, the Socar Business Plan, the Pulse reported.

Socar will be the first Korean mobility service provider to go public and the second company to list on the main Kospi bourse this year, the Korean Economic Daily reported.

See also: Security Firm SK Shieldus Joins Car-Sharing Startup SOCAR in Filing for Korean IPOs

Korea’s first car-sharing platform, Socar, first filed initial paperwork for a public offering in January. The company earned unicorn status  — a $1 billion valuation — in 2020.

Socar’s operating profit was 21.6 billion won ($17.9 million) with a net loss of 23.4 billion won ($19.4 million) in the third quarter of 2021, PYMNTS reported in January. Mirae Asset Financial Group is the lead manager for the IPO.

The company is seeking to raise up to 205 billion won from the public offering, the Korean Economic Daily reported, going on Socar’s price guidance of between 34,000 and 45,000 won. The firm will confirm the IPO price after July 1-2 book building, according to the report.

Headquartered in South Korea and founded in 2012 by CEO Jimahn Kim, Socar launched in Malaysia in January 2018 and allows users to book cars that can be rented by the hour, day, or week. 

Read more: Ford CEO: Auto Industry’s Future Lies in Software, Services, Shared Mobility

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said software, services and shared mobility would comprise a growing portion of the automotive sector’s revenue mix. Software is becoming a major differentiator, with some features setting an automaker apart and commanding a premium price.

For example, he pointed to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and self-driving features as extras that consumers would be willing to pay a lot of money to have.