Kakao Pay files for an IPO on the Korea Exchange

Kakao Pay has applied for preliminary approval for an initial public offering (IPO), the Korea Exchange said Monday.

The company is expected to go public in July as a Kospi constituent stock, though no details about the schedules have been declared yet.

Samsung Securities, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan are the lead underwriters of Kakao Pay's IPO, with Daishin Securities working as a co-underwriter.

Founded in 2017 as the payment unit of Kakao, Kakao Pay has around 36 million users who have conducted 67 trillion won of transactions as of last year, according to the company. Kakao holds 55 percent of stake of Kakao Pay.

The company reported a 25 billion won ($22.5 million) of net loss in 2020 on 284.4 billion won of revenue.

Kakao Bank is likely to go public this year, while Kakao Entertainment is currently under discussions to go public in the United States next year.

Kakao rose 0.43 percent to close at 118,000 won on Monday.

BY CHEA SARAH [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]