[Trading Trend] Seoul Robotics' OTC Enterprise Value Drops in the Aftermath of IPO Review Withdrawal... Aiming for a Turnaround through Global Order Expansion

After Seoul Robotics, a leading infrastructure-based autonomous driving company, voluntarily withdrew its preliminary review for a KOSDAQ listing, its enterprise value has been declining as disappointment-driven selling emerges in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. At the time of attracting a bridge round investment from TK Investment and others in late 2024, its recognized enterprise value was around 280 billion won. However, the enterprise value currently traded in the OTC market has dropped from about 100 billion won at the beginning of the year to the 65 billion won level this week. This is interpreted as trading taking place at a mid-level between the estimated enterprise value when receiving investments from KB Investment and Korea Development Bank in 2020 (24 billion won) and the estimated enterprise value during its 2022 investment (260 billion won).

Background of IPO Withdrawal is 'Sluggish Sales'... Realigning Strategies Including Replacing Underwriters

Aiming to become the "first autonomous driving company to list in Korea," Seoul Robotics pursued a technology exception listing by acquiring A and BBB grades from professional technology rating agencies. However, at the end of December last year, it failed to pass the Korea Exchange's preliminary review threshold and voluntarily withdrew its listing application. It is reported that while the Korea Exchange positively evaluated Seoul Robotics' proprietary infrastructure-based autonomous driving technology, it took issue with its sluggish performance of 4.2 billion won in sales and an operating loss of 11.8 billion won as of 2024. The company was held back as the implicit standard of "over 10 billion won in annual sales" has recently been strictly applied even to companies seeking technology exception listings. As a result, with the listing schedule delayed, Seoul Robotics is completely revising its listing strategy by terminating its contract with its existing lead underwriter, Samsung Securities, and seeking a new underwriter.

'Level 5 Control Tower' Technology Proven in the Global Automaker Industry

Despite the financial disappointments, Seoul Robotics' core technology, the Autonomy Through Infrastructure (ATI) solution, is showing firm competitiveness on the global stage. Seoul Robotics' 'Level 5 Control Tower' is a technology in which, instead of equipping vehicles with sensors, LiDARs and cameras are installed in infrastructure such as factories or parking lots, allowing central software to remotely control non-autonomous vehicles for autonomous driving. This technology is currently introduced at BMW's Dingolfing plant in Germany, where it is utilized for accident-free new car logistics, and recently achieved the feat of winning an order for a logistics automation project within Nissan's plant in Japan. At the Nissan plant, moving 50 logistics vehicles—a task previously taking five drivers one hour to complete—can now be finished by a single monitoring personnel in just 6 to 7 minutes, proving clear innovation in terms of logistics efficiency and cost reduction.

Aiming Straight at an Earnings Turnaround with the Recruitment of a Financial Expert and New Orders

Seoul Robotics announced that it decided on this IPO withdrawal to prevent the undervaluation of existing shareholders' equity value and to seek a reasonable valuation, and stated that through its bridge investment attraction in 2024, it has secured enough cash (runway) to execute its business without short-term reliance on external funding. In addition, to overcome the profitability issues pointed out by the market, it has newly recruited Vice President Woo Sang-gil, former CFO of Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS). Through this, the company plans to accelerate the optimization of its cost structure and the securing of profitability in line with the expansion of mass production scale. Seoul Robotics, which is currently discussing investment cooperation with Woven Capital, Toyota Group's strategic investment subsidiary, plans to attempt its KOSDAQ listing again after achieving definitive sales expansion through the signing of formal contracts with major global automakers.