MegazoneCloud has expressed confidence in its initial public offering (IPO), which could value the Korean cloud management company up to $7 billion, by selecting several big-name brokerages as lead managers.
According to the company, it has chosen a total of six underwriters — three global and three domestic firms — for the IPO. JP Morgan Securities, Samsung Securities and Korea Investment and Securities will play the role of lead underwriters. BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities and KB Securities will also join the public market floating.
MegazoneCloud will engage in discussions with these underwriters to undertake book-building processes and determine the markets it seeks. Market trackers anticipate that the company could make its debut in markets, including Korea’s benchmark KOSPI, as early as next year.
MegazoneCloud is the biggest managed service partner for Amazon Web Services in Asia and the leading partner for Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure in Korea, helping companies to link up with cloud platforms. MegazoneCloud currently provides cloud, data analysis and generative artificial intelligence services to over 7,000 clients and has partnerships with over 100 major solution providers.
Established in 2018 through a split from its parent company, Megazone, MegazoneCloud was valued at $1.74 billion in 2022, overcoming a hostile environment of the global investment market affected by high interest rates.
That year, the company secured investments of $326 million from MBK Partners and IMM Private Equity, gaining investor attentions for its growth potential. In 2023, MegazoneCloud’s sales stood at $1.09 billion, up 12.7 percent from a year earlier, compared to the previous year.
Through the IPO, the company seeks to improve its financial stability as well as boost its expansion into the global markets.
In addition to its domestic operations, MegazoneCloud has been expanding its international business through eight overseas subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai and Beijing in China. Sales from the firm’s overseas managed services provider business reached approximately $50 million, up 44 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by a sharp growth in the Japanese market.
“MegazoneCloud has recorded continuous growth, achieving sales exceeding $1 billion for the past two consecutive years, and posted a net profit in the first quarter of this year,” a senior official at the company said.
“Holding cash assets worth over $360 million, the company is also exploring business expansion opportunities through large-scale M&As based on a stable cash flow.”