The corporate value of Enki Whitehat, which is seeking a KOSDAQ listing this year, has been pinned at about 150 billion won. The market's assessment emerged as Leading Investment & Securities acquired Enki Whitehat's unlisted shares as a pre-IPO investment.
The pre-IPO investment unit of Leading Investment & Securities acquired 150,000 shares of Enki Whitehat held by KOSDAQ-listed Softcamp for 2.55 billion won. The transaction price was 17,000 won per share, and applying that to the current number of outstanding shares (about 9 million) values Enki Whitehat at about 150 billion won.
The transaction involved Softcamp selling half of its 300,000-share equity in Enki Whitehat. The company said it disposed of the equity to secure liquidity and strengthen its financial soundness.
Software developer Enki Whitehat posted sales of 14.1 billion won and operating profit of 3.5 billion won last year. However, it recorded a net loss due to financial costs and other factors.
Softcamp acquired 20,000 shares of Enki Whitehat (7.84% equity) for 690 million won in Feb. 2021. After Enki Whitehat's paid-in capital increase, mezzanine issuance, and stock split, Softcamp's holdings rose to 100,000 shares last year.
Softcamp sold half of those last year—50,000 shares—for about 685 million won. This year, after Enki Whitehat's new share issuance and stock split, Softcamp's holdings changed to 300,000 shares, and it decided to transfer half of them again to Leading Investment & Securities.
As of the end of last year, the largest shareholder was founder and CEO Lee Seong-gwon, with 42.0% equity. SV Investment's "SV Gap-Coverage Fund," a financial investor (FI), holds 22.8%, and other shareholders own about 17%.
Enki Whitehat has passed the technology evaluation required for a KOSDAQ special technology listing. The technology evaluation is a key step for a special technology listing, and passing it is necessary to meet the listing requirements. The company selected Shinyoung Securities as lead manager and plans to file a preliminary listing review with the Korea Exchange (KRX) in the second half.
Enki Whitehat's core technology is a real-world hacker knowledge database accumulated over the past 10 years. Based on this database, the company developed an offensive security solution, "OFFen," which identifies corporations' information assets exposed externally and assesses their vulnerabilities.
The company has secured delivery records with more than 200 clients, including manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, and SK hynix, as well as financial and public institutions such as Woori Financial Group, Korea Investment Holdings, KB Kookmin Bank, the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute, and the Cyber Operations Command.