Vivien plans 25 billion won third-party share sale

Vivien plans to raise a total of 25 billion won through a third-party share sale to Gold300 Association, with proceeds earmarked for debt repayment and working capital, according to a corrected regulatory filing dated Jul. 30.

Under the plan set out in the corrected filing, the third-party allocation comprises 4,288,164 new shares, all of which will be assigned to Gold300 Association, the designated recipient named by Vivien. Each new share will be issued at 5,830 won, a price fixed at a 10 percent discount to the 6,470 won reference share price stated in the corrected regulatory filing.

Vivien expects the newly issued shares to be listed on Sept. 22, while the filing assigns Jan. 1 as their dividend base date under the capital-raising plan.

Of the money to be raised through the allocation, Vivien plans to use 5 billion won as working capital during 2026, including payments for goods and closely related costs. An additional 20 billion won is allocated to debt repayment, making this the larger of the two purposes specified for proceeds from the planned capital increase in the filing.

The board approved the plan on June 22, and Vivien said it selected the recipient to quickly secure funds needed for company management while considering future transactions.

The filing also details Vivien's fourth convertible bond, through which it borrowed 5 billion won from Initech last Dec. 17 as part of the company's disclosed financing arrangements. The fourth bond carries a 7 percent interest rate and is scheduled to mature on Dec. 17, 2028, according to the company's disclosure of its stated terms.

The company also borrowed 15 billion won from Ininext through its fifth convertible bond on Jan. 29, a separate financing arrangement included in the same regulatory filing. The fifth bond is due on Jan. 29, 2029 and carries the same interest rate specified for the company's earlier fourth bond in the filing.

Vivien's main business is the production and sale of women's foundation garments, lingerie and stockings under the Vivien, Barbara and Rosebud brands, according to corporate information in the disclosure.

Products and merchandise sales, including women's foundation garments and lingerie, accounted for 98.8 percent of Vivien's first-quarter revenue, according to the company's quarterly report for the period. Within that product and merchandise category, sales of foundation garments and lingerie were larger than the stockings portion recorded during the same three-month reporting period in the company's quarterly report.

Vivien sells in the domestic market through directly operated stores, department stores, discount stores, specialty shops and online home-shopping, using both offline and online distribution channels across South Korea.

For overseas sales, the company uses direct exports, distinguishing that route from the broad network of physical and online channels used for its domestic distribution business.

In its quarterly report, Vivien described the domestic women's underwear market as saturated and centered on domestic demand, with competition having intensified throughout the Korean market.

It said a prolonged slump in domestic consumption has affected industry conditions, which it identified separately alongside the market's saturation and heightened competition in Korea.