Elice's shares sank 32% in their first session, a record opening-day decline among Korean deals of at least $100 million, according to Bloomberg's tally. The artificial-intelligence infrastructure company - also described as a neocloud service provider - pulled in 201 billion won through the offering.
Despite that thud, demand looked frothy ahead of the listing. The retail bucket was oversubscribed by 400 times as individual investors were set aside 25 percent of the 2.22 million shares on sale, an allotment valued at about 50.3 billion won.
The Toss Securities forum lit up Tuesday with frustration. "I told you not to go to the Wonderland," one post quipped, playing on the firm's Korean name sounding like the heroine of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Another read, "All ants are dying," using the local nickname for retail traders alongside an image of Alice smashing ants with a giant hammer. One farewell note added, "Bye-bye Elice, off to Wonderland you go."
Some posted receipts. A user on X shared a 68,255 won ($51.44) stake that had fallen 24.75% on day one, saying, "this is the first time I've lost money on an IPO." Another commenter declared the deal had "ruined" Korean stocks and crypto markets.
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"Retail investors may have blindly believed that IPO stocks would always go up," said Jo Hyunik, investment division manager in Seoul at Iroom Investment Advisors. He added that while subscribers are taking losses, many individuals did not receive a large share count in the allocation.
Using the closing print, retail holders were down roughly $12 million for the session. The setback arrives while the Kospi sits 39% below its June peak, adding to a difficult run for retail-heavy portfolios. The bottom line: first-day pops are not guaranteed, even when the order book looks blazing hot.
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