Mirae Asset Securities denied reports suggesting it failed to secure SpaceX IPO shares due to a communication error, stating that a lead underwriter had confirmed its $1.14 billion in subscription orders. The company clarified that it submitted orders totaling $1.14 billion, raised from Korean investors via a private placement subscription process between June 5 and June 10, adhering to the lead underwriters' established procedures. Mirae further asserted that it received official confirmation from lead underwriters that its submission was completed properly. The firm labeled claims of communication errors as "defamatory," emphasizing that there was no misunderstanding on its part during the IPO process.
The brokerage firm's statement directly contradicted a Bloomberg report that cited anonymous sources claiming Mirae Asset had mistakenly treated early indications of interest as binding orders, leading to $1.1 billion worth of Korean demand not being entered into the IPO order book. Mirae Asset maintained that the demand indication process had not been initiated at the time Bloomberg suggested, and that their orders were submitted through the designated system. The company acknowledged that final allocation authority rests with the lead underwriters but rejected the notion that order submission errors were the cause of its predicament.
This dispute arose after Mirae Asset, despite marketing $500 million worth of SpaceX stock to local investors and securing an initial allocation of over 2.31 million shares at $135 each, ultimately received no shares in the record-breaking $86 billion offering. This "zero shares" outcome led to an apology from Mirae's vice-chairmen to clients on June 15 and prompted an expanded inspection by South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) into the brokerage's practices. The FSS is investigating the failed allocation and whether Mirae complied with investor protection requirements and properly disclosed risks and information regarding allocations. Officials expressed bewilderment at the outcome, especially since the allocation had reportedly been disclosed in SEC filings and funds had been collected and converted to dollars.
