NCSOFT Denies Reports of 200 Billion Won EB Issuance

(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Young Sook Yoon – NCSOFT Corp., a leading South Korean online game developer, has denied media reports that it is planning to issue exchangeable bonds (EB) worth 200 billion won ($150 million).

According to a filing on the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 24th, NCSOFT stated, “The company is not pursuing the issuance of EBs backed by treasury shares.”

Earlier in the day, a local media outlet reported that NCSOFT was seeking to issue EBs worth 200 billion won using its treasury shares, and had approached major domestic and international private equity funds (PEFs) and securities firms to gauge interest in underwriting the bonds.

The report suggested that NCSOFT was considering EB issuance as an alternative to treasury share cancellation to secure funds for potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A). However, the company immediately refuted these claims.

Market observers noted that NCSOFT’s swift denial was aimed at dispelling concerns over potential share dilution from an EB issuance.

As of 15:29 KST on the same day, shares of NCSOFT were trading at 202,500 won, up 5.85% from the previous session.

ysyoon@yna.co.kr

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