Oasis Corp., operator of South Korea’s fresh food delivery platform Oasis Market, has kicked off the process to debut on the secondary Kosdaq market in February, aiming to become the first e-commerce player to list this year.

Oasis announced Thursday that it filed a securities registration statement with the Financial Supervisory Service and embarked on procedure to join the Kosdaq market.

Oasis will offer 5.236 million shares in the initial public offering (IPO) priced at between 30,500 won ($24.6) and 39,500 won to total 159.7 billion won to 206.8 billion won.

The company will hold a bookbuilding session on Feb. 7 and 8 before public subscription on Feb. 14 and 15 for Kosdaq debut in February.

NH Investment & Securities Co. and Korea Investment & Securities Co. have been named as lead managers.

The market cap of Oasis is expected to reach 1 trillion won based on the offering price proposed by the company.

About 44.7 percent or 14.18 million Oasis shares held by its largest shareholder Gaeasoft and special related persons will face a mandatory lock-up period of up to three years from listing date. Shares held by private equity fund Unison Capital, E-Land Retail, and Home & Shopping will also be locked up for six months.

Oasis, unlike other online marketplace-based e-commerce firms, was founded as offline stores. The company launched Oasis Market in 2018 to engage in dawn delivery service of fresh goods.

Oasis has been in the black every year since its inception. Its sales rose to 356.9 billion won in 2021 from 19.3 billion won in 2015. Last year, it raised 7.7 billion won in operating income, up 78.4 percent on year, on sales of 311.8 billion won, up 19.8 percent.

By Cho Yun-hee and Choi Jieun

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