AU Brands, associated with Rockfish Weatherwear, is set to make its debut on the KOSDAQ in April 2024, potentially marking a significant milestone for Musinsa Partners as it navigates its first public listing.
AU Brands, the company behind the fashion brand Rockfish Weatherwear, is generating notable interest within the domestic venture investment sector as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) on the KOSDAQ market, scheduled for April 3, 2024. This IPO is particularly significant as it marks a potential first for Musinsa Partners, which holds shares in AU Brands, and stands to influence their exit strategy and investment performance positively.
As of now, AU Brands’ ownership is distributed among several key stakeholders: AU Commerce holds a dominant 66.9% stake, the Musinsa Co-Growth Fund Partnership owns 22.5%, and CEO Kim Ji-hoon controls 5.4%. Musinsa Partners became a major shareholder in AU Brands by securing a 20% stake through its Co-Growth Fund Partnership beginning in 2022. If the IPO proceeds successfully, it will represent the first successful public listing among the various companies supported by Musinsa Partners.
Historically, Musinsa Partners previously executed an exit during The Nature Holdings’ IPO in 2020, which manages the National Geographic apparel brand. However, the upcoming IPO of AU Brands reflects a new approach as this is the first instance in which Musinsa Partners has held a stake in a company until its listing.
AU Brands has demonstrated impressive growth metrics in recent years, achieving revenues of 18.9 billion won and operating profits of 6.4 billion won in 2022, which escalated to revenues of 41.9 billion won and operating profits of 16.2 billion won in 2023. Projections for the third quarter of 2024 suggest revenues of 29.4 billion won, marking a 9.0% increase year-over-year, though operating profits are expected to decline by 28.0% to approximately 7.8 billion won.
Analysts estimate that AU Brands’ market capitalization upon completing the IPO could range from 198.2 billion won to 226.6 billion won, indicating that Musinsa Partners may see substantial returns from their investment.
Musinsa Partners, established in 2018 as the corporate venture capital arm of the fashion platform Musinsa, has developed an investment strategy that focuses primarily on domestic fashion brands and fashion technology startups. The successful completion of AU Brands’ IPO may encourage increased activity from domestic venture capitalists in investing in fashion startups.
A representative from the venture capital sector remarked, “Musinsa Partners is taking an approach that goes beyond being a simple financial investor and is involved in designing the brand’s growth strategy together.” They added that a positive outcome from AU Brands’ IPO could significantly influence the broader fashion startup investment landscape moving forward.
Musinsa Partners has an asset management scale (AUM) of approximately 140 billion won and manages several funds aimed at supporting the fashion industry, including the “Smart Musinsa-Korea Investment Fund No. 1,” the “Musinsa Women Designer Fund No. 1,” and the “Musinsa Next Fashion Fund No. 1.” To date, the firm has invested around 90 billion won in various fashion brands and related ventures.
Source: Noah Wire Services
