Korean data centre firm Elice falls 32% on KOSDAQ debut, then rebounds above IPO price
In short
Elice Inc., a Seoul-based data centre infrastructure company, closed down 32% on its first day of trading on KOSDAQ on 20 October after raising 201 billion won ($151 million) in its IPO. Its shares then rose on 21 October and, according to CLS, traded above the IPO price on 22 October.
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Shares of Elice Inc., a Seoul-based data centre infrastructure company, closed 32% lower on their first day of trading on KOSDAQ on 20 October. CLS reported that the shares fell as much as 38% after opening sharply lower, and that the loss narrowed to 32% by the close. CLS said data show this was the worst first-day performance for a large Korean IPO on record. CLS and 36Kr said the fall highlighted investor concern over whether the AI sector's heavy investment can be justified. [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Huxiu gave further figures. It said the shares opened briefly higher at 77,700 won, still 14% below the issue price, then fell to a low of 61,400 won and closed at 61,500 won. It said the intraday fall came close to 39% and that about 300 billion won of market value was lost. Huxiu described the result as the worst first day among Korean IPOs raising more than $100 million. [ 7 ]
Before the listing, CLS reported on 19 October that Elice would raise 201 billion won (about $151 million), the largest IPO on the exchange this year. The price was set at 90,500 won per share, the top of the announced range, for a market value above 1 trillion won. CLS said peer company Firmus had cancelled its listing plan this month. Retail subscription was oversubscribed 400 times, and Huxiu said institutional orders reached 388.84 times the shares available. [ 1 , 4 , 7 ]
Huxiu said Elice was founded in 2015 and moved from a programming education platform to corporate computing services around 2019. It reported first-half revenue up 200% to 34.4 billion won and an operating profit of 10.3 billion won, against a loss of 350 million won a year earlier. Huxiu said the sell-off was not caused by losses or an extreme valuation but by a change in how AI infrastructure assets are priced. It cited Goldman Sachs analysts and a Morgan Stanley estimate on funding constraints for the sector. [ 7 ]
The shares then recovered. On 21 October CLS reported a 16% rise, and later a gain of as much as 30%, which it said regained most of the first-day loss. CLS linked this to optimism over US tech company earnings. On 22 October CLS reported a further 25% rise, with the shares trading above the IPO price. The documents do not give closing prices for those days. [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]
Why it matters
CLS and 36Kr tied the debut to investor worries over whether AI-sector spending can be justified. The documents report a sharp first-day drop followed by a rebound that CLS linked to US tech earnings optimism.
Key facts
- Elice priced its IPO at 90,500 won per share, the top of the announced range, raising 201 billion won (about $151 million). [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 7 ]
- Elice shares closed 32% lower on the first trading day, 20 October, after falling as much as 38% earlier in the session. [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Data cited by CLS show this was the worst first-day performance for a large Korean IPO on record. [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Retail subscription was oversubscribed 400 times. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- Peer company Firmus cancelled its listing plan this month before Elice's debut. [ 1 , 3 ]
- On 21 October Elice shares rose 16%, and at one point 30%, according to CLS. [ 8 , 9 ]
- On 22 October CLS reported Elice shares up 25% and trading above the IPO price. [ 10 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether Elice shares are trading above the IPO price on 22 October. Only one CLS item reports this, and it gives no share price.
- The deepest intraday fall on the first day. CLS, 36Kr and Jiemian say 38%, while Huxiu says nearly 39%.
- Why investors sold the shares. CLS and 36Kr cite doubts that AI spending is justified, while Huxiu says the cause was a change in how AI infrastructure assets are priced rather than losses or valuation.
- The cause of the rebound. Only one CLS item links it to optimism over US tech company earnings.
- Elice shares rebounded on 21 October after the first-day fall. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- 19 October: CLS reports Elice will list on KOSDAQ the next day, after Firmus cancelled its listing plan. [ 1 ]
- 20 October: CLS reports Elice shares down as much as 32% on the first day. [ 2 ]
- 20 October: CLS reports shares fell as much as 38% and closed down 32%. [ 4 ]
- 21 October: CLS reports shares up as much as 30%, recovering most of the first-day loss. [ 9 ]
- 22 October: CLS reports shares up 25% and trading above the IPO price. [ 10 ]