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Coupang founder divests $42m stake after NYSE debut

March 16, 2021 - 18:11 By Son Ji-hyoung
Coupang founder and CEO Kim Bom-suk (Coupang)
Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk has divested his stake in the South Korean e-commerce giant worth $42 million, a filing showed Tuesday.

According to the disclosure, Kim converted his Class B stocks into 1.2 million Class A common shares and then on Monday sold all the shares of the same class for the offering price of $35 apiece, which was fixed last week. Coupang‘s Class B shares give Kim 29 times more voting rights than Class A shares. A prospectus filed to the US Securities and Exchange Commission stipulates that they must be converted into Class A shares in order for them to be sold.

Following the divestment, Kim is entitled to exercise 76.2 percent voting rights of Coupang, from 76.7 percent.

The US disclosure came on the heels of Coupang’s stellar debut on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, after its 130 million common shares were offered to the public at $35 each, above the marketed $32-$34 range.

The disclosures also showed that Coupang’s non-employee board of directors Lydia Jett and Harry You bought 28,571 Class A shares, respectively.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)