Kakao Mobility is reportedly pursuing a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) targeting about $1 billion in proceeds, about four years after its plans to list on the Korean stock market fell through.

U.S.-based IPO market data provider IPOX reported that the local mobility platform operator had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a U.S. IPO in June targeting about $1 billion in proceeds, citing financial news outlet IFR.

A confidential submission allows a company to undergo SEC review before publicly disclosing detailed information about its offering. If and when Kakao Mobility makes a public filing, details such as the offering size, price range and mix of new and existing shares are expected to be disclosed.

Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and UBS have been named as potential underwriters for the offering.

The potential U.S. listing marks Kakao Mobility’s return to the IPO market after it shelved plans for a Korean listing in 2022. The company operates Kakao T, a mobility platform offering taxi-hailing and designated-driver, parking and navigation services.

Kakao Mobility had faced regulatory scrutiny and stirred controversy over allegations that it favored affiliated taxi drivers in assigning passenger calls. Its domestic listing plans also faced broader scrutiny over its parent company Kakao’s practice of spinning off and separately listing subsidiaries.

The company has recently taken steps that could support a potential overseas listing.

In May, Kakao Mobility, its second-largest shareholder Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Kakao launched a shareholder value enhancement committee to discuss measures to improve the company's corporate value.

The company has also reportedly been preparing for a U.S. listing, including a re-audit of its financial statements for the past three years by Deloitte Anjin. Its board has also reportedly approved plans related to a potential American depositary receipt listing, including costs, a timetable and post-listing board changes.

The potential offering could provide an exit route for its financial investors such as TPG, which has invested about 640 billion won ($459.7 million) in Kakao Mobility since 2017 and holds about 29 percent of the company.

The U.S. listing could also help the company avoid some of the scrutiny surrounding duplicate listings in Korea, where Kakao is already publicly traded.

However, overseas listings by domestic subsidiaries can still be subject to shareholder-protection measures under revised duplicate-listing rules that took effect Aug. 3, including an assessment of the impact on parent-company shareholders and measures to protect them.

Kakao Mobility was spun off from Kakao in 2017, making the potential impact on Kakao shareholders a key issue in any overseas listing.

The SEC's confidential review does not guarantee that the IPO will proceed. Kakao Mobility has not publicly confirmed the timing, valuation or final structure of the potential U.S. IPO.

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