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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul – Investor concerns are mounting over Kakao Pay (KOSPI: 377300) as its second-largest shareholder, Ant Group’s Alipay, accelerates the disposal of its stake.
On September 3, Kakao Pay shares plunged nearly 10% in a single session after Alipay disclosed the issuance of overseas exchangeable bonds (EBs) backed by 11.45 million shares, equivalent to 8.47% of Kakao Pay’s outstanding stock.
This follows a series of stake reductions by Alipay:
July 2024 – issuance of EBs backed by a 3.55% stake (4.80 million shares)
June 2022 – disposal of a 3.8% stake (5 million shares) via block deal
March 2023 – disposal of a 2.2% stake (2.95 million shares) via block deal
Analysts warn that the overhang risk from large-scale potential selloffs could weigh on Kakao Pay’s stock, regardless of its underlying fundamentals. Even if all recently issued EBs are converted into shares, Alipay will remain Kakao Pay’s second-largest shareholder with a 19.44% stake. Market participants expect further stake reductions, possibly through additional block deals.
Im Hee-yeon, analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities, commented:
“The repeated stake disposals by Kakao Pay’s second-largest shareholder are likely to slow down any re-rating momentum during stock rebounds. Given the remaining stake, there is a high probability of further market disposals, which will continue to pressure supply-demand dynamics and fuel volatility in the near term.”
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
