[Edaily Reporter Lee Hye-ra] Companies that have entered the KOSDAQ market through SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) mergers over the past year are all experiencing sluggish stock prices. More than half of them have seen their share prices fall by half compared to their initial listing price, indicating a prolonged slump.
While listing via SPAC mergers is a method favored by companies because the process is simpler than an initial public offering (IPO) and involves less uncertainty regarding fundraising—which is heavily influenced by bookbuilding results—critics point out that the relatively limited due diligence process prior to listing poses a significant risk of poor stock performance after listing.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 10th, a total of five companies—#SemiTS, #KP Aviation Industry, #Bowon Chemical, #NBR Motion, and #GFI—have entered the KOSDAQ market this year through SPAC mergers. All of them are currently trading below their initial listing prices.
In particular, KP Aviation, which went public on the 19th of last month through a merger with NH SPAC No. 30, saw the steepest decline. As of today, KP Aviation’s stock price has plummeted to 10,360 won. Less than a month after its listing, the stock has fallen by 69.9% as of today.
Bowon Chemical also fell by about 62%. As of today, NBR Motion and GFI had dropped 26% and 39.2%, respectively, compared to their initial listing prices. SemitS, which entered the KOSDAQ market through the same method, also hit the daily price limit down on its first trading day and closed at 5,440 won.
The situation remains the same even when the timeframe is expanded to the past year. Eight companies—#Sammimetal, #Alt, #SamikPharmaceutical, #OA, #Adforus, #Gison, #NewKidsOn, and #KGA—that went public via SPAC mergers since June 10 of last year are also all trading below their reference prices.
Among these, six companies—Alt, OA, Adforus, Gison, New Kids On, and KGA—have seen their stock prices fall by approximately 53% to 74% since their listings.
Including companies that went public this year, this means that the stock prices of 8 out of 13 companies listed through SPAC mergers over the past year—more than half—have effectively been cut in half.
Analysts attribute this poor stock performance to the fact that SPAC mergers have been used as an alternative listing route, resulting in relatively limited due diligence compared to IPOs and the potential for some companies to be overvalued.
Na Seung-doo, a research fellow at SK Securities, stated, “SPAC mergers are preferred by companies in need of funding because the amount raised falls within a predictable range,” adding, “As the general public offering market went through a recovery phase, many companies shifted their strategy to list via SPACs.”
The business structure of securities firms may also have played a role. Analysts suggest that the interests of securities firms may have been at play as competition for commissions and high-quality deals within the investment banking (IB) sector has intensified recently.
Research Fellow Na noted, “As competition within related businesses intensifies, securities firms inevitably face growing concerns about their revenue structures.” He added, “From the perspective of securities firms holding multiple SPACs, finding companies to merge with and list them would have been more advantageous than liquidating the SPACs upon maturity.”
He further elaborated, “It is possible that some companies received relatively generous valuations during this process, leading to mergers,” adding, “Coupled with the relative underperformance of the KOSDAQ market compared to the KOSPI market, the post-listing stock price trends of these companies appear to be generally weak.”