‘Baby Shark’ creator Pinkfong seeks to raise 76 billion won from Seoul IPO

[SEOUL] The company behind Baby Shark, the most-watched YouTube video of all time, is seeking to raise as much as 76 billion won (S$70 million) via an initial public offering (IPO) in Seoul.

South Korea’s Pinkfong plans to issue two million new shares at 32,000 to 38,000 won apiece, according to a prospectus filed on Monday (Sep 22). At the top of the price range, the deal gives the company a market value of about 545 billion won, Bloomberg calculations show.

Watched more than 16 billion times, the South Korean jingle is way 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 such as Penguin Dance garnering a more modest 125 million views.

The bookbuilding process will run from Oct 28 to Nov 3, with the final offer price to be set on Nov 5. Investor subscriptions will run from Nov 6 to 7.

Mirae Asset Securities and Samsung Securities are serving as lead arrangers.

Pinkfong co-founder Kim Min-seok owns more than 18 per cent of the company, while Samsung Publishing holds almost 17 per cent. BLOOMBERG