Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Nearly 30 years of experience in the Korean/Asian equity research. Major sectors coverage include the following:
- Technology 
- Consumer 
- Special Situations/Deep Value Plays
- Tender Offers/M&As
- Holdcos/Stubs
- Asian Unicorns/Private Companies

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Unloved Korea to Bottom on a Short Squeeze

Emart & Kurly - Double Down On the Pricing War Against Coupang

Battle Lines Drawn As BABA Builds Out First/Last-Mile Capacity; But Who Will Fund 75+ Bn CNY CapEx?

Equity Bottom-Up

<p>One of the most prolific investors in the Korean unicorns has been a local investment company called <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/dsc-investment-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:34293:1" rel="noopener">DSC Investment (241520 KS), </a>which currently has a market cap of 160 billion won. Established in 2012, DSC Investment currently operates 19 funds with a total AUM of $586 million. DSC Investment is a venture capital firm focusing on early-stage startups. </p><p>Among the hundreds of venture capital companies in Korea, DSC Investment is a stand-out since it has done such an excellent job in picking big winners (especially unicorns that plan to complete their IPOs in the next three years). Among the unicorns/near unicorns below which have been invested by DSC Investment, Kurly, Musinsa, Kong Studio, and Dunamu are expected to complete their IPOs in the next 1-2 years. </p><div class="content-highlight">
<p>We estimate DSC Investment's major ownership stakes in four, key unicorns in Korea (Kurly, Musinsa, Kong Studio, and Dunamu) to be about 435 billion won. DSC Investment's stakes in these four companies are nearly 172% higher than its market cap. </p>
<p>DSC Investment has many other promising investments including Riiid, Furiosa AI, Brandi, and SMLAB. Most of the company's promising investments are still private companies ready to complete their IPOs in the next 1-2 years. As these companies start to complete their IPOs, investors will increasingly focus on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/dsc-investment-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:34293:1" rel="noopener">DSC Investment (241520 KS)</a> as a key investment play. Consequently, we believe that DSC Investment could be a big winner over the next 1-2 years. </p>
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One of the most prolific investors in the Korean unicorns has been a local investment company called DSC Investment (241520 KS), which currently has a market cap of 160 billion won. Established in 2012, DSC Investment currently operates 19 funds with a total AUM of $586 million. DSC Investment is a venture capital firm focusing on early-stage startups. Among the hundreds of venture capital companies in Korea, DSC Investment is a stand-out since it has done such an excellent job in picking big winners (especially unicorns that plan to complete their IPOs in the next three years). Among the unicorns/near unicorns below which have been invested by DSC Investment, Kurly, Musinsa, Kong Studio, and Dunamu are expected to complete their IPOs in the next 1-2 years. 
We estimate DSC Investment's major ownership stakes in four, key unicorns in Korea (Kurly, Musinsa, Kong Studio, and Dunamu) to be about 435 billion won. DSC Investment's stakes in these four companies are nearly 172% higher than its market cap. 
DSC Investment has many other promising investments including Riiid, Furiosa AI, Brandi, and SMLAB. Most of the company's promising investments are still private companies ready to complete their IPOs in the next 1-2 years. As these companies start to complete their IPOs, investors will increasingly focus on DSC Investment (241520 KS) as a key investment play. Consequently, we believe that DSC Investment could be a big winner over the next 1-2 years. 


Korea Small Cap Gem #11: DSC Investment - One of the Most Prolific Investors of Korean Unicorns