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| Japan's SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son attends a press conference in Tokyo, Nov. 5, 2018. Reuters-Yonhap |
Korea's top online short-stay platform seeks US IPO
By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies that invested in Yanolja, Korea's leading online accommodation booking platform, saw their own stock prices rise on Thursday following reports that SoftBank's Vision Fund decided to purchase a 10 percent stake in the startup.
SBI Investment advanced 7.56 percent, while Daesung Private Equity rose 3.98 percent. DSC Investment, Aju IB Investment and Woori Capital also advanced.
Reports said Vision Fund, led by billionaire SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, decided to invest 1 trillion won in Yanolja, which sent the message "Hey, let's play." Vision Fund is scheduled to sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with the Korean unicorn next week.
Specifically, Vision Fund plans to acquire a 10 percent stake in Yanolja. The agreement calls for Vision Fund to purchase existing shares and subscribe to new shares. Yanolja officials declined to comment.
"Because a platform operator needs a substantial amount of financial backing for strengthened brand positioning in markets, Vision Fund's financial support will be a huge plus for Yanolja to make its U.S. IPO actually happen," one local investment banking industry source said.
Yanolja aims to use the funds as ammunition to expand its core businesses through mergers and acquisitions focusing on countries in Southeast Asia and to go public in the United States as early as 2023.
GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and U.S. travel company Booking Holdings currently hold a combined 35 percent to 40 percent stake in the unicorn company after investing a total of $180 million.
Partners Investment, Murex Partners, Aju IB Investment, SBI Investment, SL Investment and SkyLake Investment are Yanolja's Korean investment partners, according to the company.
"SoftBank requested a Nasdaq listing as a prerequisite for its Vision Fund's financial investment in Yanolja, as SoftBank itself set Yanolja's valuation at 10 trillion won. But Yanolja's business portfolio is focused on the Korean market and it has a lot of competitors, which also means that its efforts for a Nasdaq listing will be in vain if it fails to differentiate its product portfolios for international markets," another industry executive said. Morgan Stanley was in discussions with Yanolja to become its lead underwriter.
Yanolja, founded by Lee Su-jin in 2005, hopes to tap into resurgent interest in Korea's tech scene. Vision Fund's investment comes after Coupang's successful debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Its valuation pushed briefly past $100 billion, affirming the belief on its home turf that going public on bigger markets like the U.S. may produce higher valuations.
Yanolja swung to the black last year and there are no cases of a single non-listed local unicorn company making a successful debut in Korea. Back in 2020, Yanolja chose Mirae Asset Securities as its lead underwriter and Samsung Securities as co-underwriter for a local IPO. However, it's very likely their contracts are set to be nullified as Yanolja prefers a U.S. IPO.
