[E-Daily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] Seoul Auction Co. Ltd..(063170)has begun improving its financial structure through the early redemption of exchangeable bonds (EBs).

Seoul Auction Co. Ltd. announced in a regulatory filing on the 7th that it had fully repurchased its first series of bearer, unsecured, private placement exchangeable bonds worth 12.5 billion won.
These exchangeable bonds were issued in 2023 with 751,201 shares of the company’s own stock as the exchange target. The company completed the full redemption in response to bondholders exercising their early redemption rights (put options), leveraging liquidity secured from strong performance in art auctions since the second half of last year. The company explained that this also eliminates the risk of potential oversupply (overhang).
This repayment is expected to lower the debt-to-equity ratio by more than 10 percentage points. Since the early repayment was carried out with approximately two years remaining until maturity, the burden of future interest expenses is also expected to decrease.
A company official stated, “We have secured a stable cash flow through proactive sourcing of artworks in line with the rebound in the art auction market,” adding, “Based on this, we were able to carry out the early redemption of convertible bonds, further strengthening our financial soundness.”
Seoul Auction Co. Ltd. is leading the domestic art market, focusing on high-end, premium works. In the first half of this year, the total hammer price from online and offline auctions reached 64.3 billion won, a 205% increase compared to the same period last year. In particular, the average hammer price per lot in offline auctions nearly doubled, driving the overall increase in total hammer price.
Last March, during an offline auction held in conjunction with the Hong Kong Preview, the company once again broke the domestic record high price it had set last November.
Financial performance is also showing signs of improvement. Seoul Auction Co. Ltd.’s consolidated revenue for the first quarter of this year more than tripled compared to the same period last year, and the company successfully returned to profitability. The company plans to continue expanding its auction performance in the second half of the year by strengthening its artwork sourcing capabilities.