This article was published on Oct. 23, 2025, at 3:48 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
With SK Enmove's withdrawal from its listing, paused IPOs of large corporations' subsidiaries are resuming. LS Group's Essex Solutions is understood to have immediately accelerated preparations for a KOSPI listing. The catalyst was TMC, a KPF subsidiary, clearing the Korea Exchange (KRX) hurdle despite controversy over dual listings.
According to the financial investment industry, Essex Solutions recently finalized a plan to pursue a listing on the securities market and plans to file a preliminary listing review with the Korea Exchange (KRX) as early as next week. The company is reported to have begun formal preconsultations with the Korea Exchange (KRX) earlier this month and coordinated the timing of the review filing.
Essex Solutions is regarded as the No. 1 company in the 95-year-old global magnet wire market. It was established in 1930 when the wire assembly division of U.S. automaker Ford spun off. Its main products are special wires for electric vehicles, and LS Group incorporated it as an affiliate in 2008 after investing about 1 trillion won.
Essex Solutions began preparing for a listing earlier this year to raise funds to expand production facilities. In March it selected Mirae Asset Securities and Korea Investment & Securities as lead underwriters and NH Investment & Securities and Samsung Securities as co-underwriters, planning to file a preliminary listing review in September and list within the year.
The controversy over dual listings became an obstacle. Dual listing is typically interpreted as a subsidiary listing while the parent company is already listed. With President Lee Jae-myung expressing critical views on dual listings before his election and the ruling party deciding to push for a 'split listing ban' law, the IPO market froze.
SK Group's SK Enmove gave up its listing. During preconsultations this year with the Korea Exchange (KRX) before pursuing a listing, SK Enmove was asked to establish a plan to protect the shareholder rights of the parent company (SK Innovation), and subsequent overlaps with amendments to the Commercial Act led the company to abandon its listing plans.
SK Enmove's withdrawal directly delayed Essex Solutions' listing push. Essex Solutions, as an LS great-grandchild company, faced concerns that it could be embroiled in controversy over harming the shareholder rights of listed LS. The company said it has a governance structure that goes LS-LS I&D-Superior Essex-Essex Solutions.
Essex Solutions' listing challenge was reversed by TMC. TMC succeeded earlier this month in clearing the Korea Exchange (KRX) preliminary listing review hurdle. TMC is a cable manufacturing specialist in which KPF holds a 68.37% equity stake, and KPF being a KOSDAQ-listed company sparked controversy over dual listings.
Essex Solutions decided to use TMC's case to clear the preliminary listing review hurdle. A rough review guideline emerged that suggested it could overcome dual listing controversy if it secured measures on 'business independence,' centered on previously estimated revenue proportions, and 'investor protection' such as shareholder returns.
In the first half of this year, TMC's sales were 185.2 billion won, about half of KPF's consolidated sales (394.7 billion won), and net profit was 1.3 billion won, less than 5% of KPF's consolidated net profit (24.7 billion won). In the case of LSE, which was blocked by dual listing controversy just before approval, LSE's net profit exceeded that of its parent company.
In preconsultations, Essex Solutions reportedly emphasized to the Korea Exchange (KRX) that the proportion of Essex Solutions in LS's consolidated results was only about 5%. The company also said it would strengthen communication with shareholders, including LS shareholder meetings, and increase dividends.
A securities industry official said, "If Essex Solutions clears the Korea Exchange (KRX) hurdle and enters the stock market, dormant large-corporation IPOs could pick up again," noting, "Sono Group's Sono International and Hanwha Group's Hanwha Energy have postponed listing schedules amid the burden of dual listing controversy."