LG Inotek raises $138 mln, to list in Seoul next wk
By Park Jung-youn
SEOUL, July 14 (Reuters) - South Korean electronics parts maker LG Inotek Co Ltd will make its trading debut in Seoul next week after it raised 137.7 billion won ($138 million) in an initial public offering, the company said on Monday.
The company, 70 percent owned by LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS), priced its shares at 40,500 won apiece last week, below its indicative range of 50,000 won to 60,000 won.
After its listing on July 24, LG Electronics' ownership will fall to 50 percent, an LG Inotek spokesman said.
The offering valued the company at approximately 490 billion won, and the share price suggests LG Inotek would be valued at 20 times its 2007 net profit, above the benchmark KOSPI's 10 times.
The company is selling 3.4 million shares, or 28 percent of its total shares for the listing, managed by Daewoo Securities (006800.KS).
LG Inotek's IPO comes at a challenging time as South Korea's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index has fallen 17 percent on the year amid global credit crunch fears and mounting inflation pressure, which have dampened appetite for stocks and driven investors away from Asian stock markets to safer havens.
About 35 companies in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan had withdrawn plans to raise around $20 billion from IPOs this year as of early July, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Earlier this month, SK C&C, the technology outsourcing arm of the SK Group, delayed a July IPO worth up to 1.2 trillion won blaming unfavourable stock market conditions.
"We have been preparing for the public offering for a long time, and decided that a market downturn will not stop us from getting along with our plans," the LG Inotek spokesman said by telephone.
"We plan to make new investments in facilities for making LED (light emitting diodes) and electronic car parts."
LG Inotek's assets reached 719 billion won at end-March, with its first-quarter net profit at 30 billion won, according to Korea Exchange data released in June.
($1=997.7 Won)
(Reporting by Park Jung-youn; editing by Marie-France Han and Keiron x)
