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LG Energy Solution (LGES), the battery unit of South Korea's LG Group, plans to host an investor relations session for its planned initial public offering (IPO) in January 2022.

Industry officials said the timeline represents the company’s confidence for its planned listing. Despite the unprecedentedly large size of the deal, which amounts to 12 trillion won ($10 billion), the investor relations session will be held for an average length of time amid strong interest from major institutional investors at home and abroad.

LGES reportedly plans to hold its investor relations session with domestic and foreign investors, starting the first week of January 2022, according to industry sources. Considering the company aims to hold a book building process on January 11 and 12, its investor relation session is expected to be held for five to seven business days.

The event period is ordinary given the size of the deal. LGES reportedly seeks to raise up to 12.7 trillion won through its listing, more than 2.6 times the nation’s largest ever deal - Samsung Life Insurance’s 2010 IPO of 4.9 trillion won.

Other big deals that took place in the fourth quarter of this year held their investor relations session for an extended period of time to lure more investors amid chilled investor sentiment in the stock market. Used car retailer K Car held its investor relations session from September 13 to 28.

This is because the LGES’ IPO has already attracted keen attention from investors. LGES is the world’s second largest electric vehicle battery marker with strong growth potential. The battery maker's valuation has reportedly been set at between 70 trillion and 75 trillion won based on its IPO price, which is only a quarter of the world's largest manufacturer of power batteries and materials CATL’s value of 285 trillion won.

Global major investors have already signed up for a non-deal roadshow, which refers to an investor relations program during which the company meets investors not for the purpose of selling securities.

Many institutional investors at home and abroad wish to have a more detailed understanding of LGES through the investor relations session.

“The deal is already garnering strong attention, with some foreign major institutions expressing their intention to invest nearly 1 trillion won at the non-deal roadshow,” said an industry source. “The country’s largest institutional investor National Pension Service, based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, also said it would come to Seoul to participate in the investor relations session.”

The company’s schedule for the investor relations program is based on the assumption that it will receive preliminary approval from the Korea Exchange on November 30. LGES plans to file its registration statement on December 2, immediately after getting an approval. (Reporting by Kyung-ju Lee)