This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:52 p.m. on July 8, 2026.
Financial investors (FIs) in diagnostic device specialist Sky Labs, which makes ring-type blood pressure monitors, agreed to a market debut even at a listing valuation below expectations. The decision appears to reflect a view that having the company's value reassessed after listing is more favorable for recouping their investment.
According to the financial investment industry on the 8th, Sky Labs filed a securities registration statement the previous day and proposed an indicative price range (band) of 13,000–16,000 won. It plans to offer 2 million shares and list a total of 18,741,977 shares, implying a maximum market capitalization of 299.9 billion won.
Based on the bottom of the price band (13,000 won), the post-listing market cap would be about 243.6 billion won. Considering that the per-share price set in the late last year pre-IPO (fundraising before listing) round was 12,681 won, it effectively amounts to a listing with no premium for FIs.
Sky Labs, a healthcare startup founded in 2015 by Chief Executive Lee Byeong-hwan, formerly of Samsung Electronics, counts the ring-type blood pressure monitor "CartBP Pro" as its flagship product. Drawing attention for its effectiveness in managing cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, it has raised a cumulative 64 billion won.
However, if the final IPO price set after the book-building comes in below the bottom of the band, investors who joined Sky Labs' pre-IPO could find themselves in a loss zone at the moment of listing. At the time, Atinum Investment, IMM Investment and others invested 11.5 billion won.
The analysis is that FIs are looking beyond an immediate post-listing exit. The Korea Exchange (KRX) applies a one-month lockup to venture-finance-acquired shares within the past two years under KOSDAQ Market listing rules, but IMM Investment and others pledged a three-month lockup on half of their holdings.
FIs noted that Sky Labs is maintaining steep top-line growth, helped by health insurance coverage for CartBP Pro. In particular, as supply of CartBP Pro to hospitals and clinics nationwide got into full swing last year, Sky Labs' revenue rose to 7.9 billion won, doubling from 4.1 billion won a year earlier.
Still, weakened sentiment toward bio investments and Sky Labs' continuing losses are cited as obstacles to an exit. Sky Labs booked an operating loss of 14.7 billion won last year, widening from 11.7 billion won the year before, and its net loss came to a much larger roughly 63 billion won.
A securities industry official said, "In the past, companies often delayed going public if the valuation was at the level of the last investment round, but the situation has changed recently," adding, "As listings themselves have become harder, more are putting weight on the potential for a post-listing revaluation."
Meanwhile, Sky Labs plans to conduct book-building for institutional investors from the 3rd of next month. It will then set the offering price and take subscriptions from retail investors starting on the 13th. If all goes as planned, it will list on the KOSDAQ Market in mid-August. Korea Investment & Securities Co. is the lead underwriter.