이 기사는 2022년 01월 07일 09시51분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

SK Shieldus, the security device making subsidiary of South Korea’s largest wireless carrier SK Telecom, has filed a preliminary initial public offeirng (IPO) application, skipping its planned pre-IPO funding.

SK Shieldus, which had prepared for a pre-IPO fundraising, has filed a preliminary review for its listing with the Korea Exchange on Wednesday, according to industry sources.

The company had been in talks with potential investors - Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and EQT Partners - to sell a 10% stake including shares owned by Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund-led consortium for around 400 billion won ($333 million) with an aim to push up its corporate value to 4 trillion won.

SK Shieldus, however, has recently halted the sale process as the company and potential investors couldn't come close to agreeing on the valuation amid impending IPO process. Investment banking industry sources said that lowering the price in a pre-IPO funding would make the company harder to raise its IPO price.

SK Shieldus secured 37.8 billion won by selling more than 1.06 million common shares to its largest shareholder SK Square at 35,419 won per share in mid-December 2021. This brought SK Square’s stake in SK Shieldus to 63.1%.

SK Shieldus is expected to be the second player among SK Group’s affiliates to go public this year, following One Store. In November 2021, SK Telecom launched new investment firm SK Square by spinning off its non-telecom businesses. SK Square’s subsidiaries - One Store, SK Hynix, SK Shieldus, 11 Street, Wavve, and T Map Mobility - are preparing to go public in the first half of this year.

SK Shieldus plans to develop new growth engines by combining ICT, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence alongside cyber security, physical security, and safety and care. It also aims to expand its home security service, Caps Home. (Reporting by Chan-mi Oh)