Latest news with #Kosdaq
The Star
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
YouTube's top star ‘Baby Shark' creator Pinkfong applies for IPO in South Korea
SEOUL (Bloomberg): The company behind "Baby Shark,' the most watched YouTube video of all time, will go public in South Korea. Pinkfong Co. submitted the paperwork to apply for an initial public offering on the small-cap Kosdaq index on Thursday, the company said in an email. Though Pinkfong declined to comment on the size of the deal, Korea Economic Daily reported the company may fetch a valuation of about 700 billion won (US$507 million). Watched almost 16 billion times, the Korean jingle is more than 7 billion views ahead of Luis Fonsi's "Despacito' on YouTube as kids worldwide keep watching the video endlessly nearly a decade after it was released. Still, Pinkfong has struggled to replicate the success of that hit, with songs like "Penguin Dance' garnering a more modest 124 million views. Pinkfong Co-founder Kim Min-seok owns more than 18% of the company, while Samsung Publishing Co. holds almost 17%. Shares of Samsung Publishing dropped 8.1% on Friday, extending losses for the second session. Mirae Asset Securities Co. and Samsung Securities Co. are arranging the deal. -- With assistance from Shinhye Kang. - ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
‘Baby Shark' Creator Pinkfong Applies for IPO in South Korea
The company behind ' Baby Shark,' the most watched YouTube video of all time, will go public in South Korea. Pinkfong Co. submitted the paperwork to apply for an initial public offering on the small-cap Kosdaq index on Thursday, the company said in an email.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Maker Of Popular Skin Booster Shot Rejuran Becomes Billionaire On K-Beauty Boom
getty The growing popularity of PharmaResearch's skin booster injection Rejuran, which is made from salmon sperm cells, has boosted shares of the biopharma company by about 230% over the past year. The stock surge has made Jung Sang-soo, the company's founder and chairman, South Korea's newest billionaire. With a 30% stake, Jung, who turned 67 in April, is the largest shareholder of PharmaResearch, which is listed on South Korea's technology-rich Kosdaq stock exchange. Forbes estimates Jung's net worth at $1.2 billion as of Tuesday's stock market close. Jung founded PharmaResearch in 2001 and listed it on the Kosdaq in 2015. He studied pharmacy at Chung-Ang University in Seoul and worked at Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Based in Gangneung, east of Seoul, PharmaResearch specializes in using PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) and PN (polynucleotide) to treat wrinkles. 'PDRN and PN are regenerative medicine raw materials with proven safety and efficacy, and their composition is a DNA fragment isolated from salmon sperm cells,' PharmaResearch explained in its quarterly regulatory filing. 'As a tissue repair stimulator, PDRN's representative functions are promoting cell production and secretion of various growth factors…PN is a DNA fraction with a longer nucleic acid chain than PDRN.' Its flagship product is Rejuran, which was launched in 2014 and is sold across Asia. PharmaResearch reported that revenue rose 56% year-over-year to 117 billion won ($85 million) in the first quarter, while net income nearly doubled from the previous year to 36 billion won. About 78% of its revenue came from anti-aging products. 'While general filler procedures focus on artificial volume improvement, Rejuran is differentiated in that it induces skin cell regeneration and ECM (extracellular matrix) stability recovery by directly injecting effective ingredients into the dermis layer,' PharmaResearch said in a regulatory filing. 'This has increased its popularity among consumers who prefer natural skin improvement, and continuous effects through repeated procedures are also factors driving market demand.' Citing data from Precedence Research, PharmaResearch said in the filing the global anti-aging market is expected to grow from about $73 billion in 2024 to $140.9 billion in 2034. One reason for such galloping growth is rising awareness of self-care. Another tailwind is that Korean cosmetics and beauty devices have become wildly popular. 'Recently, interest in skin care treatments has been rapidly increasing among foreign medical tourists visiting Korea, and among these, dermatological treatment accounts for the largest proportion in the field of attracting foreign patients,' PharmaResearch said in the filing. South Korea's cosmetics exports grew 21% year-over-year in 2024 to a record $10.2 billion, according to the country's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The growing K-beauty craze catapulted Jung Sung-jae (no relation to PharmaResearch's founder), founder of beauty device maker Classys, into the ranks of Korea's 50 Richest list for the first time last month with an estimated fortune of $760 million. Classys' flagship product is Ultraformer MPT, a high-intensity focused ultrasound device that provides a non-invasive way to tighten and lift skin by regenerating new collagen. In 2022, Bain Capital Private Equity bought a 60% stake in Classys from Jung and his wife, Lee Yeon-joo, and their two children for 670 billion won (about $560 million at the time). Private equity giants have been circling PharmaResearch with CVC Capital, investing 200 billion won in the company last September for a 10% stake. 'It appears that the company has begun penetration into aesthetics shops in Southeast Asia by tapping into the partner CVC Capital Partners' sales network,' Shinhan Securities analysts Jung Hee-ryeong and Eom Min-yong said in a research note in November. 'Given that Southeast Asia accounts for a large portion of Rejuran exports, the medical device business is expected to see steep growth in 2025.'
Forbes
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Hyundai Launches $91 Million VC Fund For Early-Stage Startups
Cars on display at a Hyundai Motor Company dealership. GETTY South Korean automobile giant Hyundai Motor Group, controlled by billionaire Euisun Chung, announced Monday that it has launched the third fund of its corporate venture capital arm ZER01NE, targeting early-stage startups with a fund size of 125 billion won ($91.4 million). Through ZER01NE, pronounced 'Zero One,' Hyundai said it plans to invest in strategic areas such as AI, robotics, cybersecurity, and energy technologies. Titled Fund III, the fresh capital is drawn from ten of Hyundai's 28 main affiliates, including Kia Corp., Hyundai Motor Securities, logistics provider Hyundai Glovis, and automobile parts manufacturers Hyundai Wia and Hyundai Mobis. 'This fund reinforces the Group's position as a leading strategic investor in transformative technologies,' said Keith Noh, vice president and head of ZER01NE group at Hyundai Motor Group, in a statement about the launch. 'By deepening collaboration with innovative startups, we aim to generate meaningful synergies across our affiliates and accelerate our future-ready business initiatives.' Across its previous two funds, including Fund II (valued at 80.5 billion won) and Fund I (10 billion won), ZER01NE has invested in more than 105 startups, which it claims have led to 'over 200 collaboration cases' within the larger Hyundai group. One example of such collaboration, according to Noh, is EV battery pack remanufacturer Poen. Backed by ZER01NE's first fund, Poen has served as a partner for the group's battery warranty or general repairs. As of 2024, the startup had processed warranty repairs for a total of 1,500 units across 12 of Hyundai's models. Representatives from Hyundai Motor Group and ZER01NE. Courtesy of Hyundai Founded in 2018, ZER01NE began as a 'creative talent platform' for Hyundai, which the automobile giant described at the time as 'an amalgam' of CVC and 'open innovation.' Apart from its investment funds, ZER01NE operates a startup accelerator that has spanned 195 companies to date. Graduates from the accelerator are eligible for investment based on factors such as their growth potential and long-term partnership opportunities – even if their solutions may not be immediately relevant to Hyundai. 'Innovation is fundamental to a company's survival, and achieving this innovation requires the best talent,' added Noh in emailed comments to Forbes. 'In the past, companies relied on talent they directly hired to drive innovation, but now it is essential to also collaborate with external talent for a company's survival. From this perspective, ZER01NE has been operating as an open innovation platform with the vision of attracting the best talent, and this vision has remained unchanged since its launch.' ZER01NE's portfolio includes Clobot, an autonomous robot builder that debuted on the Kosdaq last October; and Seoul and San Francisco-based MakinaRocks, which develops machine learning platforms for manufacturing processes. MakinaRocks last raised $10 million in a 2020 Series A funding round that included participation from other major CVCs, including LG Technology Ventures and Applied Ventures, an arm of Nasdaq-listed manufacturing giant Applied Materials. The introduction of Fund III builds on Hyundai's 15-year history in venture investing. In 2011, Hyundai unveiled its first CVC unit, Hyundai Ventures, in Silicon Valley; six years later, in 2017, the group rebranded this unit as the Hyundai Center for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experiences, known as Hyundai CRADLE. While ZER01NE mainly operates in Korea, CRADLE has five global offices, including bases in Berlin, Beijing and Singapore. Additionally, unlike ZER01NE, which invests directly in startups, CRADLE also functions as a fund of funds. In January, it served as an anchor investor alongside Kia in the $200 million fund launch of Factorial Funds, a Menlo Park, California-based VC firm that was an early backer of AI giants Anthropic and Perplexity. In recent years, a wave of storied Korean conglomerates has made inroads into venture investing. The government's relaxation of regulations on establishing CVCs in 2021 spurred the creation of new firms, such as Hyosung Group's Hyosung Ventures and GS Holdings' GS Ventures in 2022. In 2023, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the formation of a CVC Alliance with 42 firms, while pledging to create a fund pool in excess of 8 trillion won ($5.7 billion) by 2025. Earlier in May, automobile parts giant Hankook & Company Group – one of Asia's largest tiremakers by sales – established its own CVC with a capital commitment of 15 billion won ($10.7 million). Named Hankook & Company Ventures, the CVC will invest in startups from seed to Series B, according to Hankook & Company, spanning AI, robotics and other deeptech sectors.
News18
22-05-2025
- Business
- News18
Tech Mahindra, Infosys Lead IT Selloff Amid Rising US Fiscal Deficit Concerns
Last Updated: So far in 2025, Nifty IT stocks have declined up to 34%, with names like Oracle, Wipro, Infosys, Coforge, TCS; What should Investors Do? IT Stocks Tumble: Shares of Indian IT companies declined sharply on May 22, mirroring the sell-off in US tech stocks, as investors grew increasingly concerned about the possibility of a widening US federal deficit. The Nifty IT index slipped nearly 1.4% in early trade, making it one of the worst-performing sectors of the day. The pressure stems from renewed worries around US fiscal health, with Republican lawmakers working on a new budget proposal that includes tax cuts. However, the potential for this proposal to significantly expand the already large federal deficit has rattled markets. The mood soured further after Moody's downgraded US sovereign debt last week, citing mounting debt levels and fiscal imbalances. These developments have pushed long-term US Treasury yields higher, sparking a sell-off across global equity markets. US indices tumbled overnight, with losses spilling into Asia as Japan's Nikkei 225, South Korea's Kospi and Kosdaq, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng each fell more than 1% in morning trade. Back home, benchmark indices opened in the red, with IT stocks bearing the brunt of the fall. Given their heavy reliance on US business, Indian IT companies are seen as vulnerable to a prolonged period of US fiscal instability. Tech Mahindra led the losses, plunging over 2% to Rs 1,564.70. Persistent Systems, HCL Tech, and Mphasis also dropped more than 2% each. Market heavyweights TCS and Infosys slipped around 1.4%, while Wipro declined over 1%. LTI Mindtree, and Coforge traded with marginal losses. The IT sector has faced increased volatility this year, initially rallying but reversing gains after the Moody's downgrade. Analysts have flagged high valuations and persistent earnings downgrades as major concerns heading into FY26. 'This is not a broad-based 'buy-the-sector' moment," said Sonam Srivastava, founder and fund manager at Wright Research. 'While the sector has underperformed, valuations are not uniformly cheap yet, and earnings downgrades are still trickling in. Patience will be key." So far in 2025, individual Nifty IT stocks have declined between 7.6% and 34%, with names like Oracle Financial Services, Wipro, Infosys, Coforge, TCS, and HCL Tech dragging the index down by 14%. In contrast, the Nifty50 has gained 4.4% in the same period. From a valuation standpoint, the Nifty IT index is currently trading at a P/E of 29.1x, close to its five-year average of 29.3x. Some stocks, however, are trading at elevated multiples—Coforge at 67.5x (vs. 44.3x average), HCL Tech at 25.8x (vs. 22.7x), and Tech Mahindra at 36.7x (vs. 28.5x), according to Bloomberg data. Should You Buy IT Stocks Now? While near-term headwinds persist, analysts remain structurally positive on the Indian IT sector due to the US' strategic push to diversify away from China and deepen ties with countries like India. This, combined with growing global demand for digital infrastructure, AI, and cybersecurity, offers a medium-term growth opportunity. Sonam Srivastava advises a selective investment approach: 'Investors should focus on companies with annuity-heavy revenue models, strong AI/cloud capabilities, and exposure to cost-takeout deals. Large-cap players like Infosys and TCS with resilient pipelines and cost optimisation potential offer relative safety as we head into FY26." Disclaimer:Disclaimer: The views and investment tips by experts in this report are their own and not those of the website or its management. Users are advised to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. First Published: May 22, 2025, 13:38 IST
