According to media reports, Kakao Mobility, a ride-hailing service provider under South Korean mobile internet giant Kakao Group, will start the IPO process.

On Aug. 23, Kakao Mobility recently solicited proposals for its IPO from domestic and foreign brokerages and intends to select a lead underwriter next month, with the IPO expected next year.

Founded in August 2017, Kakao Mobility was spun off independently from Kakao Group's smart mobile business and is known for its ride-hailing app Kakao T. Recently, Kakao T has gradually expanded its business areas to include chauffeur services.

As of the end of last year, Kakao T had a cumulative user base of 28 million. Last year, it posted sales and operating losses of 280 billion won and 12.9 billion won, respectively.

Kakao Mobility has been recognized for its growth potential, attracting massive investments from institutional investors and corporations. After its establishment, the company received a 500 billion won investment from U.S. private equity firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG). U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group, Google, LG, and GS Caltex, a refining company of South Korea's GS Group, and GS Energy, an energy company, also became significant shareholders in the company. In the process, Kakao Mobility's enterprise value has continued to increase.

Kakao Mobility received financing from LG, GS Caltex, and GS Energy last month, valuing the company at 4 trillion won, about three times the valuation of four years ago. The investment industry believes that the company's IPO valuation is expected to exceed 6 trillion won.

Kakao Mobility's IPO is expected to accelerate the pace of IPOs of other Kakao Group subsidiaries, including mobile payment platform Kakao Pay, Kakao Entertainment, English education company Yanadoo, and Internet bank KakaoBank, which went public earlier this month and became Korea's leading bank.