[THE INVESTOR] Korean premium massage chair brand Bodyfriend is gearing up to make its stock debut in November, according to its largest shareholder VIG Partners on July 13.

“Since selecting the deal managers in May, Bodyfriend has been preparing for an IPO within this year,” Lee Chul-min, managing partner of VIG Partners, a Seoul-based private equity firm, told The Investor. 

Bodyfriend plans to apply for a preliminary IPO screening with the Korea Exchange in August. Mirae Asset Daewoo and Morgan Stanley are the deal managers. The firm’s market cap is expected to range from 2 trillion won (US$1.80 billion) to 3 trillion won.

Lee also confirmed the firm’s exit plan that is closely linked to Bodyfriend’s imminent market debut. “We will sell our shares through the planned IPO,” he added.

Bodyfriend’s IPO comes after months of speculation among industry watchers. The firm had sought to go public back in 2014 but the plans were suspended after its ownership change. VIG, in a consortium with Doosan’s venture capital unit Neoplux, acquired a 91 percent stake in Bodyfriend for 400 billion won in 2015.

The firm, which was established in 2007, is the nation’s No. 1 massage chair brand with more than 70 percent market share. Its operating profit almost doubled to 120 billion won last year from 2014.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)