By Heekyong Yang and Scott Murdoch
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution has set a new record for IPO demand with retail investors bidding for shares worth about 114 trillion won ($95.62 billion),adding to the frenzy for a piece of the biggest public offering in the country.
As a result of the strong demand, the retail portion of LGES initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed nearly 70 times and attracted about 4.4 million subscription accounts at the end of the two-day bidding period on Wednesday, according to KB Securities, one of the main bookrunners on the LGES deal.
LGES’ retail bidding volume beats the previous record of battery material maker SK IE Technology Co Ltd’s (SKIET), which drew 81 trillion won in public subscription last year.
Last week, the company priced the offering at top of the indicative marketing range to raise $10.8 billion, making it South Korea’s biggest and Asia’s third-largest IPO.
“We will continue to put efforts to complete the listing process,” LGES said in a statement.
LGES continues the trend of robust demand for IPOs from South Korean retail investors – known as “Ants” as government stimulus efforts to bolster the economy after the coronavirus crisis have flooded markets with cash.
($1 = 1,192.9000 won)
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Scott Murdoch; Editing by Louise Heavens)
