17 February 2005
The London Stock Exchange today welcomed Kumho Tire Co., Inc., manufacturer of tyres, to its Main Market.
In this US$ 363.4 million first ever concurrent dual-listed IPO on the Korea Exchange and London Stock Exchange, the Company has raised a net US$ 256.7 million. Kumho Tire began unconditional trading in London on 16 February 2005.
Kumho Tire is one of the two largest tire manufacturers in Korea, with an approximately 39% domestic market share, and was ranked as the 11th largest tire manufacturer in the world, based on 2003 sales revenues, according to “Tire Business”, a U.S. based industry magazine. The company offers a variety of radial tires to vehicle manufacturers, in Korea and other countries and has a global distribution network covering approximately 150 countries. The Company is one of the market leaders in terms of technology as the first tire manufacturer to produce 26” and 28” UHP tires. In addition, the Company has been selected as the official tire provider for a number of major Formula 3 events.
Kumho Tire's IPO brings the total number of Korean companies listed on the London Stock Exchange to 10, with their shares traded on the Exchange’s International Order Book (IOB). In addition there are a further 7 Korean Depository Receipts traded on the IOB, and Korea is the second most active country for IOB trading. In 2004, the Exchange’s member firms traded approximately US$ 16.6 billion of Korean securities on the IOB, an increase of 81 per cent since 2000.
JPMorgan acted as the sole global coordinator and bookrunner for Kumho Tire international offering of Global Depositary Shares, and Daishin Securities acted as the lead underwriter for the Korean offering of common shares.
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About The Source
The Source is a dynamic piece of sculpture specially designed by artists Greyworld for the London Stock Exchange. Permanently positioned in the main atrium of our new building at Paternoster Square, The Source consists of 729 spheres, suspended on metal cables stretching the full height of the 32-metre, 8-storey atrium. Controlled electronically, each sphere moves independently, forming random shifting patterns or words, numbers and shapes.
Now that the trading floor is a symbol only of the London Stock Exchange’s past - the equities floor closed soon after Big Bang in 1986 - the Source has been designed to represent visually London’s financial and capital markets in an electronic age.
The Source will mark the start of the London markets every day at 8.00am, and we will be inviting selected VIPs or dignitaries to push the start button and set The Source into motion. It will also mark the closing of the markets at 4.30pm. During the trading day, The Source will move into its ‘dream state’, with spheres continuously shifting and moving up and down the full height of the atrium.
A few facts about The Source
- Each sphere is lit from within and contains 21 separate components
- The spheres are suspended on a total of 5.6 km of metal cable
- The Source is 10m taller than the Angel of the North
- The plates forming the base and top of The Source are the UK’ s largest vac-formed objects.
About Greyworld
Greyworld is a group of artists who create urban art. It was founded in Paris in 1993 by Andrew Shoben and since 1995 the group has been based in London. Greyworld’s main aim is to create works of art that articulate public spaces. It has exhibited its work around the world, with permanent installations in 12 countries and in 2004 it will unveil new installations in Liverpool, New York and Shanghai.