American investors Stanley Druckenmiller and Bill Ackman are set for a huge payday after a record-breaking Coupang IPO. The company debut at $35 on Thursday, surpassing its initial target.
South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang raised $4.6 billion in its IPO on Thursday. Coupang further surpassed expectations of selling at $32-$34 a share by opening at $35 and closing the day as high as $41 (CPNG). At the time of press, its shares have pushed higher and are trading for $49.After selling 130 million shares, the company now has a market capitalization of $88.4 billion. It becomes the largest IPO in the US this year. As early big investors in the company, serial investors Bill Ackman and Stanley Druckenmiller are set to see huge profits
Druckenmiller, billionaire investor and former president of Duquesne Capital, has been a long-time investor in the company. This was disclosed by Kevin Warsh, one of the billionaire advisors. Warsh joined the Coupang board of members in 2019. According to SEC filings, he owns 280,662 shares. Bill Ackman, an American investor and Pershing Square Capital Management CEO, is also heavily invested in Coupang. Ackman reportedly invested in Coupang in 2014, just 4 years after its founding.
CEO Key to Coupang IPO Success
Their interest in Coupang is due to its similarity to Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN). Due to the population concentration in South Korea, the company has even been more efficient in delivery than Amazon. The pandemic has also been a major boost to its rise. As the population was forced to stay at home and order from online platforms, Coupang became a favorite. In 2020, Coupang’s revenue rose by 91% to reach $12 billion. It further narrowed down on its debt, recording an operating loss of $527.7 million, down 18% from 2019. The company has stated that it plans to expand in 2021 and explore new regions.
Its founder and CEO Bom Kim has been hailed as a great leader and visionary by SoftBank’s leadership. SoftBank has over the years invested billions of dollars into the company and owns a third of it- making it the biggest shareholder. Lydia Jett an investment partner at SoftBank’s Vision Fund and member of Coupang’s board further noted:
“When I met Bom and spent three days in Seoul with him, I was blown away by the level of customer understanding and the customer-centricity of his company, the innovation that was taking place.”
It is reported that following the IPO Bom Kim is now worth $8.6 billion. He becomes one of many founders to rocket in the billionaire’s index after his company’s listing. It is no secret that there is a lot of excitement in company IPOs and especially in tech companies. The Coupang IPO debut was perfectly timed.
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