이 기사는 2021년 08월 30일 07:33 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korean fashion ecommerce platform Musinsa plans to go public this year, starting its initial public offering (IPO) process this fall.

Musinsa is mulling over the right timing for its IPO, industry sources said on Thursday. It is expected to begin the process by sending out a request for proposal to brokerage firms in September or October.

The booming domestic stock market has led the company to announce its plan to go public within this year. “The company is planning to carry out the process to list its shares around this fall,” said a market watcher.

Earlier this year, Musinsa raised 130 billion won ($115 million) from Sequoia Capital and IMM Investment in a Series B funding round at a valuation of around 2.5 trillion won.

Its valuation was about 1.5 trillion won when Mirae Asset Capital reviewed its investment in Musinsa a year ago. The online fashion retailer is expected to be valued at more than 3 trillion won by the time it lists its shares as the company is diversifying into new business segments.

The fashion ecommerce platform recently acquired StyleShare and 29CM for 300 billion won in a move to differentiate itself with diverse offerings and expand its customer base to younger women and social media-savvy consumers.

Musinsa recorded revenue of 332 billion won in 2020 on a consolidated basis, with an operating profit of 45.6 billion won and net profit of 37.6 billion won. Its revenue increased more than 100 billion won year-over-year. Musinsa CEO Cho Man-ho reportedly owns more than 60% of the company. (Reporting by Chan-mi Oh)