South Korean e-commerce company Coupang Inc. announced they are filing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US. Targeting a market valuation of more than USD 50 billion, Coupang plans to optimize the increasing high-growth tech stocks. According to their application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the IPO filing aims to boost Coupang’s financial flexibilities. Coupang intends to use some of the net proceeds for upgrading products, services, and technologies in their businesses.
“We believe that by investing for the long-term in technology and infrastructure with a fanatical culture of customer centricity, we are delivering a superior customer experience at a lower cost and continuing to redefine standards for e-commerce worldwide,” said Coupang. Under the name ‘CPNG,’ Coupang targets to list its Class A common stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The Coupang-issued shares will incorporate two authorized common stock classes: Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Class A common stockholders will have one voting right, while Class B common stockholders will have 29 voting rights. Coupang would control most voting rights with the dual-class share structure, maintaining influence on management and operational decision-making.
Coupang and E-Commerce
Based on its last funding round in 2018, the South Korean online retailer was worth 9.9 trillion won ($9 billion). In 2015, the Japanese company SoftBank and its Vision Fund backed Coupang with a combined 3.3 trillion won ($3 billion). Other groups supporting Coupang include investment corporation BlackRock Inc., capital firm Sequoia Capital, and investor Bill Ackman.
Since Alibaba Group’s filing in 2014, Coupang’s IPO holds the most extensive IPO application by a foreign company in the NYSE. According to its regulatory filing, Coupang’s revenue last year reached 12.12 trillion won ($11 billion), increasing by 91 percent. Additionally, Coupang revealed that its net loss decreased to 522 million won ($474 million) from last year’s 769 billion won ($698 million).
Launched in 2010 by Kim Bom, Coupang is one of the top e-commerce companies in South Korea. Since its launch, Coupang gained popularity with the ‘Rocket Delivery,’ a service that offers same-day and next-day deliveries. Coupang stated that they deliver 99.6 percent of their orders within 24 hours besides providing Korea’s fastest delivery service. In line with the IPO, Coupang is promoting further employment investments by providing a 99 billion won ($90 million) support for their employees.
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