WBTN News

US IPO Market Slowly Climbs to a Two-Year High IPO activity hit a two-year high in the second quarter of 2024 but still came in below expectations, with 39 IPOs raising a combined $8.9 billion as investors continued to warm up to new issuers while remaining disciplined on valuations. A diverse group of 20 companies...read more

The IPO market closed out June with four deals, three of which raised $100+ million. In the pipeline, nine companies submitted initial filings, led by what could be the largest IPO of 2024 to date. Web comic platform WEBTOON Entertainment (WBTN) led the week’s deals, pricing at the high end to raise $315 million at a $2.8 billion market cap. Carved out of...read more

WEBTOON Entertainment, a leading online cartoon platform carved out of South Korea's NAVER, raised $315 million by offering 15 million shares at $21, the high end of the range of $18 to $21. New investor BlackRock indicated on $50 million of the offering (16% of the deal). NAVER agreed to invest an additional $50 million in a concurrent private placement at the offer price. Based...read more

Updated Monday, 6/24. Four IPOs are currently scheduled to debut in the week ahead as the second quarter comes to a close. Immunology biotech Alumis (ALMS) plans to raise $300 million at a $1.0 billion market cap. The company is initially focused on developing two Tyrosine Kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitors. Its most advanced candidate, ESK-001, is an oral,...read more