Mirae Asset Gets No SpaceX IPO Shares for Korean Investors, Refunds Deposits in Full

Mirae Asset Securities said it did not secure a single SpaceX initial public offering share for distribution to investors in South Korea, despite joining the underwriting syndicate for the U.S. space company’s listing.

In a notice on June 13, the brokerage said the lead underwriter did not assign it any saleable shares in the final allocation process, leaving no stock to distribute to clients. It refunded in full the subscription deposits paid by domestic professional investors early that day.

Mirae Asset had participated in the SpaceX IPO syndicate alongside more than 20 global investment banks and had been accepting subscriptions from professional investors in South Korea.

A SpaceX registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12 listed 2,314,815 shares under a Korea Tranche. At the offer price of $135 a share, the tranche was worth about $312.5 million. The market had expected those shares to be offered in South Korea through Mirae Asset, but the firm was left out when the lead underwriter made its final allocation.

The brokerage said its underwriting amount referred to its participation ratio in the syndicate and was separate from the final allotment of shares that could actually be sold to investors. Actual sale allocations for each underwriter are determined at the lead underwriter’s final discretion, it added.

Mirae Asset also emphasized that it had warned investors in advance that no shares might be allocated.

The firm said in the prospectus and key disclosure materials that there could be no allotment. It apologized for the inconvenience to clients who had waited for the subscription results.

Shin Yong-hyun, Hankyung.com reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com