SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., the drug making unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, filed for an initial public offering that is poised to become a blockbuster, given the dearth of new offerings and frenzied interest in Korean bio firms amid the pandemic.

The bio unit wholly owned by SK Holdings Co. said Tuesday it submitted an IPO filing to the Financial Services Commission to list on Korea’s main Kospi.

SK Holdings shares shot up 10.2 percent to close Wednesday at 222,000 won ($180.4).

The company is looking to raise 704.8 billion won to 959.3 billion won by offering a total of 19,578,310 shares at a price band of 36,000 won to 49,000 won.

Analysts had valued the company at around 4 trillion won to 5 trillion won. The price range was adjusted down in light of subdued investor sentiment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The IPO will be priced after gauging institutional demand on June 17-18, with the share for public subscription set for June 23-24. The company will start trading on Kospi by the end of June.

The lead bookrunners in the IPO are NH Investment & Securities Co. and Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities Ltd. Korea Investment & Securities Co. and Morgan Stanley would be joint underwriters.

SK Biopharmaceuticals was spun off from SK in 2011. Last November, it received approval for its epilepsy treatment Xcopri (cenobamate) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, becoming the first company in Korea to independently discover, develop and launch a drug in the United States.

By Kim Gyu-sik and Kim Hyo-jin

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