Korean online grocery startup Kurly raises USD 210 Mn in pre-IPO round

By Akshay Kedari  | Date: 2021-12-20

Korean online grocery startup Kurly raises USD 210 Mn in pre-IPO round

Kurly, a Korea-based online grocery startup has reportedly secured USD 210 million in a pre-IPO round, just six months after its Series F funding.

The latest round comprised only a single investor, Anchor Equity Partners, which is a Hong-Kong based private equity firm. This takes the total capital raised to date to USD 761 million, valuing the company at USD 3.3 billion.

The announcement comes along the heels of its local IPO, which will shift its listing location from the New York Stock Exchange. To encourage technological startups, the Korean Exchange has simplified listing standards for companies valued at over USD 854 million.

As per credible sources, the Seoul-based firm, which offers next-day grocery delivery will spend the proceeds on expanding its data infrastructure and logistics service, as well as for hiring new talent.

According to sources, Kurly anticipates the company to be valued at around USD 5.8 billion following the IPO. It intends to file an initial public offering application early next year, with the goal of going public in the first half of 2022.

For the record, when Kurly was founded in 2015, it was the first company in South Korea to serve premium food early morning the next day. The overnight delivery service was later adopted by local competitors. It now claims to have a total of 10 million users, with more than 2.4 million being monthly active users.

DST Global, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital China, MiraeAsset Venture Investment, Aspex Management, and Korea-based strategic investors CJ Logistics and SK Networks were among the company’s previous backers.

Since its debut, Kurly's sales have increased by more than 100% and generated USD 845 million in sales, while recording a USD 97 million operating loss in 2020.

 

Source Credit:

https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/19/kurly-lands-210m-pre-ipo-at-a-3-3b-valuation-just-months-after-its-last-funding/

About Author

Akshay Kedari     aeresearch.net

Akshay Kedari

A qualified computer engineering graduate, Akshay Kedari takes pride in having his way with words. Following his passion for content creation, he writes insightful pieces on aeresearch.net and a few other portals. Also endorsed with a short-term experience in web deve...

Read More >>

More News By Akshay Kedari

Federal Reserve increases interest rates amidst US banks’ failure

Federal Reserve increases interest rates amidst US banks’ failure

By Akshay Kedari

Despite the instability in the global financial market, the U.S. central bank has hiked its interest rates once again. The Federal Reserve has reportedly increased its rate by 0.25 percentage points. While the institution has warned other banks that ...

Apple delays employee bonuses, stops hiring amid cost-cutting efforts

Apple delays employee bonuses, stops hiring amid cost-cutting efforts

By Akshay Kedari

Apple has reportedly decided to delay the bonuses of certain divisions, alongside a halt on new hiring as part of its efforts to cut back costs. With this move, the firm joins its peers in Silicon Valley in trying to optimize workload during tough ti...

China focuses on growth of renewable energy usage amid coal boom

China focuses on growth of renewable energy usage amid coal boom

By Akshay Kedari

China is making rapid progress in limiting the emission of carbon by focusing on the expansion of renewable energy. According to the Global Energy Monitor, in 2022, China has approved its highest number of new coal-fired plants since 2015. This ha...

China factories expand production, record fastest pace in the decade

China factories expand production, record fastest pace in the decade

By Akshay Kedari

China’s manufacturing activity has reportedly shown rapid growth at the fastest pace of the decade, following the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions in late 2022. The country’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 52....

Amazon employees sound off on recent work from office policy

Amazon employees sound off on recent work from office policy

By Akshay Kedari

Amazon employees have reportedly expressed disagreement about the company recent mandates asking employees to return to office for work. This included the spamming of an internal website with messages of opposition against the new policy. An inter...