Key facts
- Mirae Asset Securities apologized to investors for failing to secure an allocation of SpaceX shares.
- The brokerage collected $500 million in deposits from investors for the offering.
- Mirae Asset cited the U.S. lead underwriter's discretionary final decision for the allocation failure.
- South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service is investigating the incident.
- Mirae Asset is considering financial compensation for affected investors.
Mirae Asset Securities has apologized to investors for failing to secure an allocation of shares in SpaceX's initial public offering. The South Korean brokerage, which acted as an underwriter, stated that despite its efforts, it was ultimately excluded from the final share distribution by the U.S. lead underwriter.
In a letter to clients, Mirae Asset's co-CEOs Kim Mi-seob and Heo Sun-ho expressed deep disappointment and apologized for the situation, noting that the firm had collected $500 million in deposits from investors for the private placement. The brokerage indicated it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the decision and is considering financial compensation for those affected.
SpaceX's stock market debut on Friday saw its valuation surpass $2 trillion. Banks including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup were involved in the IPO. Some banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Citigroup declined to comment.
Investors who had converted their funds to U.S. dollars to participate in the subscription deposits faced additional exchange fees and currency fluctuation impacts. South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service is reportedly investigating the allocation failure, focusing on investor protection measures and whether Mirae Asset adequately informed clients about the risk of not receiving shares.