This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:27 p.m. on Jan. 15, 2026.
Korea Investment & Securities Co. and Eugene Investment & Securities will make a new investment of up to 6 billion won in Grace, a K-beauty distribution specialist that they are underwriting for listing. It is a principal investment (PI) carried out directly by the teams in charge of the initial public offering (IPO), interpreted as a strategy to secure equity before listing and earn additional revenue as underwriters.
On the 15th, sources in the investment banking (IB) industry said Korea Investment & Securities Co. IB1 headquarters and Eugene Investment & Securities' IPO office recently decided to participate in Grace's pre-IPO (pre-listing fundraising). They plan to invest up to 6 billion won, including some new and existing shares, and are understood to be conducting final coordination with the company.
The structure involves the listing underwriters participating in the issuer's pre-IPO and even securing equity, and Korea Investment & Securities Co. and Eugene Investment & Securities were earlier selected in November last year as Grace's lead underwriter and joint underwriter, respectively. The two firms plan to each acquire half of 5 billion won in new shares and 1 billion won in existing shares, and plan to utilize PI.
Grace is regarded as an emerging powerhouse in K-beauty distribution that buys Korean cosmetics and ships them overseas. Starting in 1991 as an importer that brought in overseas beauty brand products such as Mustela and BioGaia and placed them in CJ Olive Young and department stores, it expanded into K-beauty exports in the 2020s.
Last year, on a consolidated basis, sales were 162 billion won, estimated to have increased nearly 20% from the previous year. After establishing a Japanese subsidiary in 2023, it newly set up a U.S. subsidiary last year and began a full-scale push into the North American market. Costco, Walmart and Ulta Beauty are major partners, and some forecasts predict sales of more than 200 billion won this year.
Analysts say the IPO teams at Korea Investment & Securities Co. and Eugene Investment & Securities sought to secure additional revenue beyond underwriting fees by using the pre-IPO. In addition to enjoying an listing premium of about 20% to 50% compared with the pre-IPO price, they can also seek additional valuation gains if the stock price continues to rise after listing.
Korea Investment & Securities Co. and Eugene Investment & Securities are reported to plan to value Grace at about 250 billion won on a new-share basis. In that case, the underwriting group is estimated to secure equity in the mid-2% range after the investment. If Grace's market capitalization exceeds only 300 billion won after listing, the equity value would jump to the 7 billion won range.
Some view the underwriters' pre-IPO investment as part of listing marketing. The fact that the underwriter, which knows the issuer's internal situation best through corporate due diligence, directly put in PI can by itself boost market confidence and attract institutional investors' interest.
A source in the IB industry said, "The fact that the underwriters themselves secured equity and thus aligned interests with the issuer will inevitably act as a positive signal in the future listing process regarding offer price setting and demand forecast success," adding, "I understand asset managers are already actively moving to acquire Grace's existing shares."
Meanwhile, Grace is reported to plan to use the investment funds to expand its global business and strengthen its brand portfolio as soon as it completes pre-IPO fundraising, and to intensify listing procedures within the year. The market sees that, considering the growth in performance, a valuation of more than 350 billion won at listing could be possible.