Tesla Supplier LG Energy Surges on Trading Debut

LG Energy supplies batteries to Tesla, General Motors and Hyundai Motor.

Photo:

Ahn Young-joon/Associated Press

Shares in LG Energy Solution Ltd. jumped on their first day of trading, after the world’s No. 2 maker of electric-vehicle batteries raised about $10.6 billion in South Korea’s largest-ever initial public offering.

By midmorning Thursday in Seoul, LG Energy shares had gained 66.5% from their IPO offer price to reach 499,500 South Korean won per share, or the equivalent of about $415.

LG Energy, which supplies batteries to

Tesla Inc.,

General Motors Co.

and

Hyundai Motor Co.,

had raised about 12.75 trillion won, or the equivalent of about $10.6 billion, through the share sale. The deal was heavily oversubscribed, with investors placing orders far in excess of the shares on offer, and the IPO gave LG Energy a market capitalization of about $59 billion.

The company is the industry’s biggest player after China’s

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.,

300750 0.12%

or CATL. While CATL largely caters to its home market, its South Korean counterpart has made its dominance in Europe and aggressive U.S. investments a pitch to investors.

Lithium prices are rising as demand for the key ingredient in electric car batteries grows, in the midst of a broader push to move away from oil and gas. But extraction of the metal is time-consuming and potentially harmful to the environment, and plans to produce more have prompted protests. Photo: STR/Getty Images, Oliver Bunic/AFP/Getty Images

Write to Frances Yoon at frances.yoon@wsj.com