[THE INVESTOR] Studio Dragon, a subsidiary of Korean media giant CJ E&M, is looking at a market value of almost 1 trillion won (US$883.55 million) after it gets listed on the country’s secondary bourse KOSDAQ next month.

The company submitted a registration statement to the Financial Supervisory Service on Oct. 18, and is set to go public next month.

Studio Dragon’s market debut is one of the much-awaited offerings this year as investors are betting on Korea’s growing content market that has been rapidly growing with diversified platforms, such as IPTV and Over-The-Top delivery.

The firm grew 37.7 percent annually on average between 2014 and 2016. Sales in the first half of this year hit 137.4 billion won (US$121 million), while operating profit reached 22.9 billion won.

Studio Dragon was spun off from CJ E&M in 2016, and since then has created many hit shows including cable drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.” CJ E&M currently owns a 90.76 percent stake in Studio Dragon.

The company plans to raise up to 210 billion won by offering 6 million new shares. The proceedings will be used for operating costs and acquiring a stake in other companies, the company said.

The price range for the IPO is between 30,900 won and 35,000 won. At the highest price, the company market cap is expected to reach 981 billion won.

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)