By Kwanwoo Jun
LG CNS, an information-technology services affiliate of conglomerate LG Group, made a weak debut in South Korea after the country's biggest initial public offering in three years.
Shares of LG CNS fell as much as 8.6% to 56,600 won, equivalent to $38.99, after opening at 60,500 won in their first day of trading on the Kospi stock exchange Wednesday. The shares pared some losses in later in the morning but remained below their IPO price of 61,900 won, the top end of their marketed price rage. The Kospi was recently up 0.9%.
The company, through an oversubscribed share sale in January, raised 1.199 trillion won, equivalent to $825.9 million. That marked the largest IPO in South Korea since 2022, when battery maker LG Energy Solution raised more than $10 billion.
The stock's lackluster performance put LG CNS's estimated market value at around $4 billion.
LG CNS plans to use the IPO proceeds for facility investments, acquisitions of other IT firms and debt repayment.
LG CNS said revenue rose 13% to 5.605 trillion won in 2023, while operating profit was up 12% at 464.05 billion won.
LG Corp., the holding company for LG Group, has a 45% stake in LG CNS.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 04, 2025 21:43 ET (02:43 GMT)
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