Harsh market conditions have prompted Kurly, the operator of Korean e-grocery platform Market Kurly, to hold off its planned initial public offering (IPO), the company said in a statement.
The IPO was originally planned for early this year after Kurly received preliminary approval from the Korea Exchange in August. In Korea, once a company gets preliminary approval for its IPO, it should be listed on the stock market within six months.
“We decided to push back our planned IPO with the Korea Exchange (KRX), considering the contracting investor confidence amid global economic uncertainties,” the company said.
Kurly added that it will resume its public listing when it can be fully evaluated for its worth.
Kurly, launched in May 2015, seeks to become the Amazon of online grocery delivery. It was the first to introduce the “full cold-chain” system, a temperature-controlled supply chain for fresh food delivery, to users in South Korea.
The startup saw its annual revenue grow threefold to 1.6 trillion won ($1.19 billion) in 2021 from 426 billion in 2019 as demand for online grocery shopping jumped during the COVID-19 pandemic, although it reported an operating loss of 214 billion won in 2021.
In 2021, the company raised $200 million in a Series F funding round co-anchored by major existing investors, including Aspex Management, DST Global, Sequoia Capital China, and Hillhouse Capital.
The funding round, which gives the startup a post-money valuation of $2.2 billion, was also backed by new investors Millennium Management and CJ Logistics Corporation.
Kurly became a unicorn in 2020 when it raised $160 million in a Series E funding round led by DST Global.
According to Korean news agency Yonhap, several companies in the country had withdrawn their IPO plans last year due to harsh market conditions.
Among them were CJ Olive Young, Korea’s largest health and beauty store operator; refinery company Hyundai Oil Bank; and SK Group’s securities unit SK Shieldus.