L&C Bio's 140 Billion Won Rights Offering Leads a KOSDAQ Capital-Raising Rush

Three KOSDAQ-listed companies moved to raise fresh equity capital in back-to-back disclosures at the end of July, with plans totaling roughly 144.2 billion won — and one deal accounts for nearly all of it. Regenerative-medicine firm L&C Bio said it will raise about 140 billion won through a rights offering to existing shareholders, while two smaller companies, Hanju ART and Bonne, opted for targeted placements of 2 billion won and 2.2 billion won respectively.

A Facility-Funding Bet Dwarfs the Field

L&C Bio’s offering is the one that matters for scale. The company said it will raise approximately 140 billion won primarily for facility investment, structured as a shareholder-allotment offering in which any forfeited shares are subsequently sold to the public — a format that spreads the raise across the existing shareholder base rather than handing new stock to a single investor.

The size is striking relative to the company’s history. Founded in August 2011 by Lee Hwan-cheol, L&C Bio listed on KOSDAQ in November 2018 and is headquartered in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Its recent balance-sheet record helps explain why the company is reaching for equity rather than more debt: L&C Bio previously sold off a 9.77% stake in surgical-robot maker Curexo, and repaying the convertible bonds it had issued to fund that investment strained its liquidity. In late 2025 the firm also completed a share-exchange deal with Humedix worth about 15 billion won.

An equity raise of this magnitude carries a governance dimension as well. Founder Lee Hwan-cheol and nine allied shareholders control a combined 31.33% of the company, so a 140 billion won offering will test how much of the new stock insiders absorb — and how much dilution they accept — once subscription results come in.

Small Caps Take the Quicker Route

The other two deals illustrate the opposite end of the KOSDAQ funding spectrum. Hanju ART disclosed a third-party allotment of about 2 billion won to an investment vehicle called Artemis No. 2, earmarked for operating funds. A day later, Bonne announced its own third-party allotment, raising about 2.203 billion won from H Investment Fund, likewise for working capital.

Third-party allotments are the fastest financing channel available to listed Korean companies: the board designates a specific investor, prices the shares, and closes without soliciting the broader shareholder base. For small caps that need operating cash quickly, that speed is the point. The trade-off is concentrated dilution — existing shareholders get no chance to participate, and a single fund walks away with a new block of stock.

What the Split Says About Funding Conditions

The contrast between the three disclosures is a useful snapshot of how KOSDAQ companies are financing themselves. Companies with a credible capital-spending story, like L&C Bio, can attempt a large public-format raise and ask their own shareholders to fund expansion. Smaller firms raising amounts in the low billions of won are instead tapping private investment funds directly, trading dilution for certainty of execution.

For investors, the two structures warrant different questions. In a rights offering, the key variables are the final issue price, the subscription rate among existing holders, and how many forfeited shares end up in the general public offering. In a third-party allotment, the question is who the incoming investor is and whether the new capital signals a strategic relationship or simply a liquidity patch. Separately, the Financial Supervisory Service’s disclosure system also recorded issuance results this week from builder-affiliated DYD for its own third-party allotment — a reminder that this financing channel stays in steady use across the exchange.

All three new raises now move to execution: payment dates, final pricing, and — in L&C Bio’s case — a subscription process that will reveal how much conviction its shareholders have in the facility-investment plan attached to the offering.