Kakao Games sets new record in IPO history in two-day public subscription

SEOUL -- Kakao Games, a game subsidiary of South Korean web service giant Kakao, set a new record in the history of stock market share offering by collecting some 58.55 trillion won ($49.3 billion) worth of evidence in retail subscription. The previous record was 31 trillion won set by SK Biopharmaceuticals in June.

Kakao Games shares were oversubscribed by 1,525 times from retail investors in a two-day public subscription that ended on September 2. Kakao Games plans to sell new shares at a price range between 20,000 won and 24,000 won.

About 3.2 million shares, or 20 percent of 16 million new common shares to be sold under Kakao Games' initial public offering, were offered for retail subscription. The game unit of Kakao, the operator of South Korea's favorite messenger app KakaoTalk, hopes to use proceeds for developing new games.

Founded in 2016, Kakao Games has more than 45 million monthly active users in South Korea and other countries.