The lightweight materials component specialist Hallacast closed its first day of trading on the KOSDAQ market with a gain of just over 2%. This is interpreted as due to profit-taking by financial investors (FIs), which limited the stock price increase.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 21st, Hallacast closed at 5,920 won, up 2.07% (120 won) from the previous day's public offering price of 5,800 won.
The initial price was set at 7,840 won compared to the public offering price (5,800 won). It surged to 8,480 won in the early trading but then reduced its gains.
A large volume of sell orders from existing shareholders led to a decline in stock prices. This is because investors classified as 'other corporations' sold off 2,209,789 shares on the first day of listing.
The Korea Exchange designated Hallacast as an investment caution item because the amount sold in net sale from a specific account during regular market hours exceeded 2% of the listed shares.
The 2,209,789 shares exceeded 6% of all listed shares of Hallacast, with the shareholder likely being NV Mezzanine Plus Private Equity Investment Limited Partnership, which is an FI for Hallacast.
In fact, it appears that there is only one existing shareholder, NV Mezzanine Plus Private Equity Investment Limited Partnership, who can sell more than 2.2 million shares on the first day of listing.
NV Mezzanine Plus Private Equity Investment Limited Partnership is an investment purpose corporation utilized by Dominus Investment, the private equity fund (PEF) operator, for investing in Hallacast.
Dominus Investment previously invested 35 billion won into NV Mezzanine Plus Private Equity Investment Limited Partnership in 2021 to become a major shareholder.
As of the listing date, it was found that Hallacast held 3,424,700 shares, accounting for 9.38% equity.
Although the stock price increase for Hallacast was limited on the listing day, Dominus Investment is believed to have gained substantial revenue, as the per-share acquisition price of Hallacast was around 2,233 won.
Market estimates suggest that Dominus Investment likely earned a profit of approximately 10.5 billion won from this equity disposal.
Meanwhile, Hallacast, established in 1996, is engaged in the production of precision components used in automobiles and robots, utilizing materials such as magnesium and aluminum. The company is focusing on key fields for future cars and is expanding its scope into the robotics parts industry.