TPG, online portal Naver eyeing Korean drama producer’s pre-IPO share sale
Jun Ho Cha
Aug 07, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
The US private equity firm TPG Capital and South Korea’s top Internet portal Naver Corp. have participated in preliminary bidding for a pre-IPO placement by the country’s leading TV drama producer amid soaring viewership of Korean TV series and movies on online platforms, according to investment banking sources on August 7.
The pre-IPO share sale by JTBC Studios Co. Ltd. has drawn eight to nine preliminary bidders including global private equity houses and domestic and foreign strategic investors by the August 7 deadline, the sources said, declining to identify other bidders.
The size of the stake up for sale would be somewhere between 20% and 40% of its outstanding shares, depending on proposals by the bidders. Based on the valuation estimated by the selling side, or 20 times its trailing EBITDA of 20 billion won, the stake on offer would be 80 billion won to 160 billion won ($67 million-$135 million).
JTBC Studios, the producer of the hit TV series The World of the Married, Itaewon Class and Sky Castle, will complete the pre-IPO placement by year’s end to fund its content and streaming service expansion.