(Bloomberg) –
South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. and a group of existing shareholders raised $ 4.6 billion in an expanded offer, making it one of the largest listings for an Asian company on a United States exchange.
Coupang quoted 130 million shares at $ 35 each on Wednesday, above a marketed range of $ 32 to $ 34 each, the company said in a statement.
The retailer’s IPO is the largest on a U.S. stock exchange since Uber Technologies Inc. raised $ 8.1 billion in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Coupang’s offering is also the largest of any Asian-based company in New York since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s $ 25 billion listing in 2014, the largest ever in the United States
Coupang and his existing shareholders planned to sell 120 million shares. The previous range had been increased from $ 27 to $ 30, signaling strong demand from investors.
At $ 35 a share, Coupang would have a market value of about $ 60 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in its prospectus. The company sold 100 million new shares, while existing investors unloaded 30 million shares, up from an additional 20 million.
Return from SoftBank
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp., its largest shareholder, made a gain of more than $ 16 billion from the IPO, polishing founder Masayoshi Son’s reputation for choosing successful startups, even after a series of mistakes.
In November 2018, SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested $ 2 billion in the company in a deal that valued Coupang at $ 9 billion, people familiar with the matter said at the time. This financing came after $ 1 billion from SoftBank itself in 2015, valuing the start at around $ 5 billion.
Founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, a student who dropped out of Harvard University, Coupang has grown to become the Korean version of Amazon.com Inc.
The company aggressively expanded its delivery and logistics operations, placing 70% of the country’s population within 11 kilometers of its distribution centers, according to its prospectus. Coupang also invested in new lines of business, such as food delivery and streaming services.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Allen & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are leading the offer. Coupang’s shares are expected to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the symbol CPNG.
(Updates with official prices in the first and second paragraphs.)
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