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| Millie’s Library logo |
By Anna J. Park
“Millie’s Library,” an e-book subscription platform business based in Korea, aims to go public next year. The company recently signed an underwriting deal with Mirae Asset Securities.
If Millie’s Library succeeds in making its KOSDAQ market debut next year, it will become the first e-book platform to go public on the Korean stock market.
Ridibooks, the top player in the domestic e-book industry, is valued at around 520 billion won ($460 million) and has also been planning to go public. It selected Korea Investment & Securities back in 2019 as an IPO underwriter. However, the firm is widely expected to go public in a couple of years when its value surpasses one trillion won.
Millie’s Library, valued at around 150 billion won, lags behind Ridibooks. The firm’s annual revenue is also about one tenth of its competitor Ridibooks. While Ridibooks achieved an annual revenue of 155.5 billion won with an operating profit of 2.5 billion won in 2020, Millie’s Library’s annual revenue totaled 19.2 billion won, while it suffered an operating loss of 4.9 billion won over the same period.
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| Image captured from the website of Millie’s Library / Courtesy of Millie’s Library |
However, Millie’s Library has been displaying fast growth with its subscription business model since it was founded in 2016. Currently, 3.5 million users are registered users of the e-book platform which has 100,000 books in store.
Based on the IPO plan, a number of venture capital (VC) firms that invested Millie’s Library are expected to make a successful exit. More than 30 billion won is invested by various VCs through Series A and Series B investments, including HB Investment, Korea Investment Partners, STIC Ventures, KB Investment and Kolon Investment.
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