이 기사는 2021년 12월 06일 07시37분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Ten investment banking firms are set to compete for a lead advisory role to prepare Kakao Mobility, the mobility services arm of South Korea’s platform giant Kakao Corp, for an initial public offering planned for next year.

Five domestic securities firms and five foreign investment banks will pitch the company for roles on the IPO underwriting team for two days starting December 2, industry sources said.

Kakao Mobility omitted the shortlisting process and invited as many investment banking firms as possible, a decision aimed at listening to a range of different ideas from bankers following strong public criticism this summer as the company’s rapid expansion raised concerns about the possibility of hurting small business owners.

Among the domestic securities firms invited by Kakao Mobility are NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, KB Securities, Daishin Securities and Shinhan Investment. They all have worked or are working with Kakao’s major affiliates – such as Kakao Bank, Kakao Pay and Kakao Entertainment – to help them list on the local stock exchange.

Samsung Securities, which acted as lead manager on Kakao Pay’s stock market debut last month, was excluded because it has been selected as co-manager on the planned IPO of car-sharing company SoCar.

Kakao Mobility has also invited top five foreign investment banks in the domestic IPO market to pitch for the listing, according to sources.

Despite the lack of profitability for now and increased uncertainty about the regulatory risks, Kakao Mobility is considered an attractive investment as it is expected to benefit from the fast-growing mobility market. Kakao’s growing brand power at home and abroad is also a positive for the IPO.

Kakao Mobility reportedly asked investment banking firms to focus on its future growth drivers, instead of limiting the company’s operations to just car hailing, when presenting the equity story.

Technologies related to future mobility solutions and big data about users are among Kakao Mobility’s key competitiveness, industry insiders said. This is the reason that the company is considering including Google and Tesla as comparable companies.

Kakao Mobility is expected to finish the selection process by the end of this year, with a target of listing in 2022. (Reporting by Seok-cheol Choi)