Kurly, the operator of South Korean e-grocery platform Market Kurly, has raised 120 billion won (about $91 million) from existing investors, four months after it abandoned its planned initial public offering (IPO).
In its filings, the South Korean startup said it issued a total of 1.81 million shares to existing investors Anchor Equity Partners and Aspex Management at 66,148 won apiece.
Anchor Equity was issued 1.51 million shares for 100 billion won, while Aspex was issued 302,352 shares for about 20 billion won, the filings further showed.
Anchor Equity Partners first invested about $210 million in Kurly’s pre-IPO funding round in December 2021. Aspex Management co-anchored the startup’s $200-million Series F funding in July that year, along with DST Global, Sequoia Capital China, and Hillhouse Capital.
In January, Kurly announced it was holding off its planned IPO due to harsh market conditions. 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. The company said 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 won 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.
The company, which was valued at $2.2 billion in 2021, became a unicorn in 2020 when it raised $160 million in a Series E funding round anchored by DST Global.
Kurly’s largest shareholder is US-based venture capital investor Sequoia Capital, which has an 11.82% stake. The other shareholders include Hillhouse Capital with a 10.91% stake; and DST Global with a 9.93% stake. Prior to the latest funding, Hong Kong-based Aspex Management held a 7.78% stake, while Anchor Equity Partners had a 7.56% stake.