SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean online grocer Oasis Corp. cancelled its planned initial public offering (IPO) on Monday amid lackluster investor sentiment.
Oasis said it submitted a withdrawal letter after it received a lackluster response from domestic and foreign institutional investors during a two-day demand forecasting session last Tuesday and Wednesday amid growing uncertainty over the global economy.
The company last year announced plans to go public on the local stock market.
“Oasis decided to shelve our public listing, as the demand forecast ahead of our IPO showed the company may not be able to be valued at an appropriate price,” the company said in a statement.
“While making efforts to grow the size of our business, we will resume our public offering at a time when we can be appropriately valuated,” the company added.
Founded in 2011, Oasis is the operator of Oasis Market, an e-grocery store known for lower priced, private-brand organic produce. It owns 53 offline stores and three logistics centers in the greater Seoul area.
It was set to become South Korea’s first e-commerce company to trade public, after the likes of Kurly and 11st previously withdrew their IPO plans, citing tough market conditions.
(Yonhap)