IPO for label of K-pop group BTS set to be South Korea's biggest in 3 years

K-pop group BTS' label Big Hit Entertainment priced the IPO at 135,000 won per share. PHOTO: AFP

SEOUL (REUTERS) - Big Hit Entertainment, the management label of hugely popular South Korean K-Pop group BTS, priced its initial public offering (IPO) at top of its range on Monday (Sept 28), in South Korea's largest listing in three years.

This comes as Big Hit announced on Monday that the group's second album release this year, BE (Deluxe Edition), will drop on Nov 20.

Institutional investors sought more than 1,000 times the number of shares on offer, with Big Hit riding on the success of the seven-member band, which has become the first South Korean group to reach No.1 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with the song Dynamite.

Big Hit priced the IPO at 135,000 won (S$158) per share, it said in a regulatory filing, the top of an indicative price range of 105,000-135,000 won announced earlier this month.

Some 1,420 institutional investors indicated interest for shares in the offering, looking for 1,117 times the number available, the filing said. About 98 per cent said they would pay the top-range price or more.

Institutional and retail investors' subscriptions are due on Oct 5 to 6.

The IPO will raise 962.6 billion won through the offer of 7.13 million new shares. It is the biggest South Korean IPO since Celltrion HealthCare raised 1 trillion won in 2017.

Based on the pricing, Big Hit's total market value is expected to be about 4.8 trillion won, taking into account common shares plus redeemable preferred shares that will be converted into common shares upon the IPO.

With plenty of liquidity in the market, some analysts predict gross bids from retail investors could hit 100 trillion won, making it South Korea's hottest initial public offering.

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