Kanaph Therapeutics sets IPO price at top band of ₩20,000

Kanaph Therapeutics said in a public disclosure on Wednesday that it has finalized the IPO price at 20,000 won ($13.6), the upper end of the desired price band (16,000–20,000 won), based on the results of its bookbuilding process targeting Korean and foreign institutional investors.

A total of 2,327 institutional investors at home and abroad participated in the bookbuilding, resulting in a subscription ratio of 962.1 to 1. The total subscription volume was 1,412,369,500 shares, with 99.88 percent of the participating volume (including unspecified prices) bidding at or above the upper band. Accordingly, the final offering amount is expected to be 40 billion won, with a market capitalization of about 259.1 billion won based on the offering price.

Lee Byoung-chul, CEO of Kanaph Therapeutics, speaks at the company’s IPO press conference at the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeouido on Feb. 27. (Credit: Korea Biomedical Review)

Notably, 76.1 percent of applications included commitments for mandatory holding periods of 15 days or more -- the highest ratio since the “Regulation on Securities Underwriting” was revised in March last year.

Among participating institutions, 32.1 percent committed to a mandatory holding period of at least three months. Meanwhile, 24.6 percent opted for a six-month holding period. According to Kanaph Therapeutics, this reflects high confidence and medium- to long-term investment intent among institutional investors.

"Kanaph Therapeutics is recognized for its drug development capabilities. The company has built a diverse pipeline -- including bispecific antibodies, small molecules and ADCs -- based on proprietary genome-based target discovery technology," said an official from Korea Investment & Securities, the lead underwriter. “Its strategy is to advance early-stage discoveries into the preclinical stage to reduce risk and accelerate commercialization, a model viewed positively for both stability and growth potential.”

Kanaph Therapeutics said it plans to use the funds secured through this public offering to advance its pipeline through joint R&D, expand new pipelines, strengthen its R&D capabilities and provide operational funding.

“We appreciate institutional investors who share our growth and technology vision,” Kanaph Therapeutics CEO Lee Byoung-chul said. “After our Kosdaq listing, we will enhance our genome-based target discovery and accelerate clinical development and commercialization of diverse pipelines to deliver results.”

Kanaph Therapeutics is scheduled to list on the Kosdaq on March 16, following a two-day public subscription period for retail investors on Thursday and Friday.