South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service is widening its probe into Mirae Asset Securities after the firm failed to secure a single share in SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO. The investigation, which began around June 14, centers on whether Mirae adequately warned investors that they might end up with nothing.
Here’s the thing: Mirae didn’t just miss out on a few shares. The firm was listed in SEC filings as having committed to purchasing 2,314,815 shares at $135 apiece, a position worth roughly $312.5 million. Goldman Sachs, acting as lead underwriter, allocated exactly zero of those shares to Mirae. Every single subscription deposit had to be refunded.
The biggest IPO meets the biggest snub
SpaceX’s IPO raised $75 billion, making it the largest public offering in history by a wide margin. The company debuted at $135 per share, implying a valuation of approximately $1.76 trillion at the offer price.
Shares then surged 19% on their first day of trading, closing at $161 and pushing SpaceX’s market cap above $2.1 trillion. Mirae’s Korean clients were not among those who got shares at the IPO price.
