South Korea’s online-only Kakao Bank backed by the country’s No. 1 chat platform operator Kakao Corp. expects equity investment of 400 billion won ($354.1 million) from U.S. private equity fund TPG.

The pre-IPO plan is put to a vote in the board meeting of Kakao Bank on Tuesday, according to sources. Once approved, TPG is expected to purchase new shares of Kakao Bank that would amount to 4-5 percent of the company. The U.S. PEF reportedly estimated the value of the Korean internet-only bank at 10 trillion won.

The fresh capital may stall Kakao Bank’s IPO scheme, according to experts. The company announced its plan to go public in the second half of next year after the board meeting last month.

Kakao Bank shares trade at around 100,000 won in the over-the-counter market, commanding unofficial capitalization of around 40 trillion won as of early September.

Its net profit surged 371.9 percent on year to 45.3 billion won in the first six months of this year thanks to brisk lending business and an increase in fee income on the back of alliance with securities firms and credit card companies.

Kakao owns 33.5 percent in Kakao Bank, Korea Investment Value Asset Management 28.6 percent, KB Kookmin Bank 9.9 percent, Korea Investment Holdings 4.9 percent, Netmarble 3.9 percent, and Yes24 2.0 percent.

Car-hailing service operator Kakao Mobility is the first Kakao family that attracted investment from TPG. In 2017, the U.S. PEF invested 500 billion won in Kakao Mobility and it now owns about a 27 percent stake.

Kakao shares closed 1.37 percent higher at 334,000 won on Tuesday.

By Ahn Gab-seong, Kang Woo-seok and Lee Ha-yeon

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]