This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 7:09 a.m. on Aug. 30, 2026.
Investors in the convertible bonds (CB) of KOSDAQ-listed AptN(270520) are set to log a gain of more than three times in about two years. When the CBs were issued, the structure and the current share price made profits impossible, but because AptN recently moved to raise funds (a paid-in capital increase through new share issuance), the conversion price fell below the floor.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 30th, investors in AptN's 6th and 7th CBs exercised their conversion rights on the 27th. With conversions totaling 14.4 billion won for the 6th CB and 1.868 billion won for the 7th CB, a large batch of new shares equivalent to 70% of the current outstanding shares will list next month.
The conversion price of the CBs is 1,000 won. Given the closing price of 3,550 won on the 28th, investors are expected to reap about 3.5 times the market price. As the shares issued through CB conversion are scheduled to list on the 28th of next month, the actual return will vary with the stock price at that time.
This large-scale CB conversion is a situation likely to frustrate AptN shareholders. AptN's current share price is only a quarter of the price when the CBs were issued. Stock that originally could not be converted has now begun to cascade like a waterfall.
AptN's 6th and 7th CBs, sized at 21 billion won and 4.2 billion won, respectively, were issued in Sept. 2024. The investors are Areumdri Corporation and Glory New Technology Partnership No. 59. AptN planned at the time to inject the CB proceeds into its overseas subsidiaries' businesses.
The conversion price at issuance was 1,379 won, and the minimum conversion price tied to market declines was set at 70%, or 966 won. However, when AptN conducted a 10-for-1 reverse stock split in April, the minimum conversion price was arithmetically adjusted to 9,660 won. Had this structure held, realizing profit through conversion would have been impossible at the current 3,550 won share price.
But due to AptN's recent 8th CB issuance and paid-in capital increase, CB investors became able to convert shares at a lower conversion price. That was thanks to a provision stipulating that, if new shares are issued, the conversion price would be adjusted based on the new share price.
In fact, when AptN issued the 8th CB in May with a conversion price of 1,870 won, the reference conversion price for the 6th and 7th CBs was adjusted to that level. Then, after another paid-in capital increase in July at an issue price of 1,000 won, the current conversion price was readjusted to 1,000 won. With a conversion-price adjustment that could not have been achieved by share price declines alone, investors were able to exit successfully.
An investment banking (IB) industry official said, "It is not unusual to have a clause adjusting the CB conversion price to the new share issue price," and noted, "With a series of fundraisings amid falling share prices, existing investors reaped the benefits."
Some, however, argue that, in contrast to the large profits CB investors earned, this conversion severely damaged existing shareholders' value. Based on the terms at issuance, if the entire CB volume had been converted, about 18 million shares could have been issued. Considering the reverse split, the potential number of shares would drop to 1.8 million. But after the latest conversion-price adjustments, the actual number of shares issued amounts to 16 million. The number of shares unlocked through CB conversion has increased nearly tenfold. An IB industry official pointed out, "If the converted shares are listed next month and the supply hits the market, a decline in the share price seems inevitable."