Paul Hastings has advised South Korean tech services firm and LG Group member company LG CNS on its 1.2-trillion-won ($827 million) global offering and listing on the Korea Exchange, with Latham & Watkins advising the bookrunners.
The IPO was the country's largest stock listing since 2022, when LG Energy Solution raised $10.74 billion.
BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley and KB Securities acted as the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, and J.P. Morgan, Mirae Asset Securities, Shinhan Securities and Daishin Securities acted as the joint bookrunners.
Reuters reported that the offering by LG CNS was one of the few by South Korean firms to draw strong demand in recent months against the backdrop of an IPO market slump since the second half of last year.
However, analysts say LG CNS's weak market debut has continued a trend of similarly disappointing listings since last year, which could further discourage investors and other companies from coming to market, Reuters added.
Last year, South Korea raised $2.85 billion worth of IPOs, according to LSEG data, up slightly from $2.79 billion in 2023.
Partner Iksoo Kim led the Paul Hastings team, which also included partner Dong Chul Kim, associate Sye Myung Kim and attorney David Park.
The Latham team was led by Hong Kong partner Benjamin Carale and Seoul counsel Diona Park, with associates Yejin Kim and Wang Zhang. Advice on U.S. tax matters was provided by Chicago partner Rene de Vera, and on regulatory matters by New York partner Jason Hegt, with associates Eric Green and Thomas Lane.
