SK Bioscience breaks record in demand for its $1.3bln IPO

By closing of a two-day public subscription, deposits for the retail share of 5.74 million in the initial offering of 22.95 million were registered at $52 billion

South Korean vaccine maker SK Bioscience Co. has exceeded its bigger sibling SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. and broke the record of retail spectacular Kakao Games Co. in institutional and retail demand for its $1.3 billion initial public offering (IPO).

By Wednesday closing of a two-day public subscription, deposits for the retail share of 5.74 million in the initial offering of 22.95 million were registered at 59.5 trillion won ($52 billion), topping the 31 trillion won record for SK Biopharmaceutical for its initial public offering in July last year and the highest retail deposit record of 58.5 trillion won for Kakao Games in its initial public offering in September.

Retail investors placed a total of 14.1 trillion won deposits at six underwriting securities companies on the first day of public subscription for SK Bioscience IPO shares, recording an average competition rate of 75.9 to one and leading to some collapse in the electronic system for the underwriting banks.

The first-day collection already exceeded that of the recent blockbuster IPOs. SK Biopharmaceuticals pulled in 5.9 trillion won and BTS agency Big Hit Entertainment 8.6 trillion won when they gathered retail investors last year.

NH Investment & Securities Co. with the biggest number of SK Bioscience shares collected subscription deposits of 5.7 trillion won from mom-and-pop investors, resulting in a competition of 82.4 to one. The competition was most fierce at Samsung Securities with 154.1 to one. Korea Investment & Securities closed the first day with a competition ratio of 78.2 to one, Mirae Asset Daewoo with 63.3 to one, Hana Financial Investment 66.1 to one, and SK Securities 30.9 to one.

The public subscription ended on Wednesday.