LG Energy Solution IPO In Korea Seen Drawing $80bn In Bids

 

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution‘s (LGES) $10.7 billion initial public offering (IPO) has received bids worth around $80 billion from institutional investors, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said.

The book for the offering, which looks set to be the country’s biggest, will close on Wednesday, with deal pricing set for Friday.

The battery maker – a wholly-owned subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd – is seeking funds to expand and meet booming demand for electric vehicle batteries.

LGES currently supplies Tesla, General Motor and Hyundai Motor, among others.

It has yet to respond to a request for comment. The sources who revealed the size of IPO bids could not be named as the information is not yet public.

Last year South Korea saw its hottest IPO market on record, with more than 20 companies going public on the country’s main KOSPI market and raising about 17 trillion won.

That was well over the 8.8 trillion won raised in all of 2010, the previous biggest year, according to the Korea Exchange.

Global sales of electric vehicles were estimated at 2.5 million vehicles in 2020, but are forecast to grow more than 12-fold to 31.1 million by 2030 and account for nearly a third of new vehicle sales, according to consulting firm Deloitte.

 

• Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard

 

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