DRX sets its sights on the Singapore Exchange: a second run at an IPO first attempted in 2022

Korean club DRX, a historic League of Legends franchise and multi-game organisation, is preparing to file a preliminary review application with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in mid-August, according to Korean banking sources. If it goes through, DRX would become the first Korean esports club listed on a stock market.

A second attempt, after a failure nobody talked about

DRX had already had a go in 2022. In September that year, the club signed with Daishin Securities as lead manager for a KOSDAQ listing targeted at 2024.

The plan stalled, however, and the attempt was abandoned over doubts about the club's profitability: revenue at the time stood at just $1.15M, against an operating loss of $4.34M.

What has changed since

DRX's financial picture has improved markedly. The club crossed the break-even threshold, as we previously reported. An unprecedented operational turnaround. Revenue has grown to $8.6M, the operating result is positive, and the net result — symbolic at $6,680 — marks the club's durable return to balance.

Why Singapore rather than Seoul

Picking the SGX over a return to the KOSDAQ is no accident. It would reflect an explicit South-East Asian growth strategy: DRX held its first overseas LCK roadshow there this year, in Hanoi, where the local reception was reportedly especially strong.

A Singapore listing would give the club a regional shop window to build sponsorship and content in an area where appetite for Korean esports is already well established — while benefiting from a Singaporean framework seen as friendlier to fast-growing foreign companies.

What to watch

The preliminary review application has not yet been filed, and the exact valuation will only be known after that stage — the market is currently talking about several hundred million dollars.