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11-05-2017, 02:04 PM
High School Dropout Turns Billionaire as Games Firm Goes Public
by Sam Kim
May 11, 2017, 5:00 AM GMT+8
The man behind South Korea’s biggest initial public offering in seven years has charted an unlikely path in a country dominated by family-run conglomerates.
A high school dropout born in a textile factory slum, Bang Jun-hyuk has used a hard-charging attitude to grow Netmarble Games Corp. into a gaming giant, winning fans and critics along the way. Its shares debut Friday after an IPO that raised 2.66 trillion won ($2.3 billion) and values the company at about 13 trillion won, which is more than the market capitalization of LG Electronics Inc.
While chaebol such as Samsung and Hyundai have long focused on manufacturing, Bang bet early on the power of smartphones to drive gaming content, building the company he founded in 2000 with just eight employees into the publisher of Lineage 2 Revolution and MARVEL Future Fight. Along the way, Netmarble has won backing from Chinese giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., which invested $500 million in 2014, as well as the CJ conglomerate.
“His ability to seal partnerships with overseas internet behemoths such as Tencent is also key to Netmarble’s success,” said Anthea Lai, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “Bang definitely proved his market instincts and leadership skills by turning the company around.”
Bang owns 24.5 percent of Netmarble, which at the IPO price gives him a net worth of $2.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The founder, Tencent and CJ E&M Corp. are the three biggest shareholders. Bang wasn’t available for an interview and the company declined to comment ahead of the listing.
More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...oes-public
by Sam Kim
May 11, 2017, 5:00 AM GMT+8
The man behind South Korea’s biggest initial public offering in seven years has charted an unlikely path in a country dominated by family-run conglomerates.
A high school dropout born in a textile factory slum, Bang Jun-hyuk has used a hard-charging attitude to grow Netmarble Games Corp. into a gaming giant, winning fans and critics along the way. Its shares debut Friday after an IPO that raised 2.66 trillion won ($2.3 billion) and values the company at about 13 trillion won, which is more than the market capitalization of LG Electronics Inc.
While chaebol such as Samsung and Hyundai have long focused on manufacturing, Bang bet early on the power of smartphones to drive gaming content, building the company he founded in 2000 with just eight employees into the publisher of Lineage 2 Revolution and MARVEL Future Fight. Along the way, Netmarble has won backing from Chinese giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., which invested $500 million in 2014, as well as the CJ conglomerate.
“His ability to seal partnerships with overseas internet behemoths such as Tencent is also key to Netmarble’s success,” said Anthea Lai, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “Bang definitely proved his market instincts and leadership skills by turning the company around.”
Bang owns 24.5 percent of Netmarble, which at the IPO price gives him a net worth of $2.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The founder, Tencent and CJ E&M Corp. are the three biggest shareholders. Bang wasn’t available for an interview and the company declined to comment ahead of the listing.
More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...oes-public
Specuvestor: Asset - Business - Structure.