The largest shareholder of BankSalad, a MyData-specialized company pushing for an initial public offering (IPO) next year, will change from current CEO Kim Tae-hoon to SKS Private Equity (SKS PE), the second-largest shareholder and BankSalad's financial investor (FI). As BankSalad's valuation has fallen, the conversion ratio of preferred shares into common shares held by SKS PE has been adjusted (refixing), raising SKS PE's equity stake. However, management control is not expected to change.
According to the financial sector on the 17th, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) approved the change of BankSalad's major shareholder on the 22nd of last month. MyData operators like BankSalad must obtain approval from the financial authorities when their largest shareholder changes.
As of the end of September, CEO Kim is the largest shareholder, holding 350,922 BankSalad shares (equity stake 27.56%). The second-largest shareholder is SKS MyData, a private investment joint venture set up by SKS PE, which holds 268,487 shares (equity stake 20.6%), and the third-largest shareholder is KT with 70,654 shares (equity stake 5.42%).
SKS PE invested 95 billion won in BankSalad through SKS MyData. Starting with 30 billion won in July 2021, it injected 65 billion won in 2022 alone and received convertible preferred shares at 353,835 won per share. Convertible preferred shares are stock that can be converted into common shares when BankSalad pursues an IPO, among other events.
However, it became an issue when BankSalad received a 500 million won investment from Mirae Asset Securities, its IPO underwriter, in August and issued convertible preferred shares at 196,594 won per share. BankSalad's corporations value fell from 353,835 won per share to 196,594 won.
In response, BankSalad adjusted the conversion price of the convertible preferred shares held by SKS PE down to 196,594 won and allowed them to be exchanged for 1.7998 common shares per preferred share. As BankSalad moves in earnest to pursue an IPO and converts preferred shares into common shares, SKS PE's equity stake will rise and surpass CEO Kim.
Even if the largest shareholder changes, management control is not expected to change. A BankSalad official said, "(Key shareholders) are cooperating well," and added, "Even if there is a change in equity stake, there will be no change in the company's situation or management control."
BankSalad had recorded losses for a long time, but its recent performance is improving. BankSalad posted net losses of 41.8 billion won in 2021 and 45.5 billion won in 2022. In 2023 and last year, it reduced losses to 23.5 billion won and 13.6 billion won, respectively. Notably, in the second quarter of this year, it posted a net profit of 120 million won, recording its first surplus.
Founded in 2012, BankSalad began its full-fledged business in 2014 by providing a personalized card recommendation service. In 2017, it launched the BankSalad application, which first introduced the financial MyData concept to an asset management service.