Coupang, Korea's largest e-commerce site, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering. However, the deal size is likely a placeholder for an IPO we estimate could raise $2 billion or more. Insiders plan to sell a portion of the deal.
Founded in 2010, Coupang is the largest product e-commerce player in Korea. The company had 14.8 million active customers in the MRQ. In addition to its owned-inventory selection, Coupang offers hundreds of millions of SKUs sourced from over 200,000 merchants on its marketplace. The company has expanded into new product offerings, including subscription service Rocket WOW, Korea's largest meal delivery platform Coupang Eats, and e-wallet Coupang Pay.
Growth has accelerated during the pandemic. In 2020, net revenues were $12.0 billion, up 91% y/y, with a gross profit of $2.0 billion.
The Seoul, South Korea-based company plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol CPNG. Coupang filed confidentially on December 7, 2020. Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company, J.P. Morgan, BofA Securities and Citi are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
