Didim E&F Challenges the 80 Trillion Won Global Webtoon Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Didim E&F, which recently changed its company name, has chosen the global webtoon business with abundant growth potential as its new growth engine.

Didim, which operates over 10 dining franchises including Yeonan Sikdang, Mapo Galmaegi, and Gonghwachun, recently changed its company name to Didim E&F through an extraordinary general meeting. The 'E' in Didim E&F stands for Entertainment, meaning web content, drama, and media, while the 'F' stands for Food. This reflects the company’s intention to create synergy by combining K-content and K-entertainment.

According to a report by market research firm Spherical Insight & Consulting, the global webtoon market is expected to grow from $4.7 billion last year at an average annual growth rate of 40.8%, reaching $60.1 billion (approximately 80 trillion KRW) by 2030.

Didim E&F’s strategy is to secure market position in a short period by partnering with companies that have a strong track record. Webtoon company Terafinn recently acquired a 7.35% stake in Didim E&F. Terafinn is a subsidiary of Terafinn Studio. Terafinn Studio also owns another subsidiary, Toomics Holdings. Didim E&F increased its ties with webtoon companies such as Toomics and Terafinn by investing 15 billion KRW in convertible bonds in Toomics Holdings.

Industry insiders are paying attention to the possibility of a merger between Didim E&F and webtoon companies like Toomics at the general meeting scheduled for March next year. If Toomics, Terafinn, and others merge with Didim E&F, it will mark the beginning of unlisted webtoon companies entering the KOSDAQ market.

Terafinn, which recently secured shares in Didim E&F, is 96.14% owned by Terafinn Studio. Terafinn Studio is an intellectual property (IP)-based global content company that received an investment of 112 billion KRW from NPX Private Equity (NPX PE) and Apalma Capital in the first half of this year. Using the secured funds, Terafinn Studio acquired 100% of the shares of webtoon company Toomics for $160 million (approximately 203.6 billion KRW).

Founded in 2015, Toomics is one of the top five domestic webtoon platforms, offering services in nine languages. It provides webtoons in various formats such as dramas, games, and metaverse content, and has grown into a global webtoon platform with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42% in annual sales from 2018 to 2021.

Terafinn Studio, at the pinnacle of the K-entertainment and K-food combined business based on Didim E&F, is a global content company headquartered in the United States, based on intellectual property (IP). It has Toomics Holdings and Toomics as its subsidiaries and grand-subsidiaries, respectively, and also owns webtoon company Terafinn as a subsidiary.

Didim E&F recently recruited Park Changsik, former CEO of Kim Jonghak Production, who produced 'Sandglass' and 'Eyes of Dawn,' as an advisory committee member for its media division. Advisor Park worked as a producer for MBC and SBS, producing works such as Full House, The Legend, White Tower, Yi San, and Haeshin, and is known as a first-generation Hallyu content PD. He also served as a member of the 19th National Assembly and was the head of the media division for the Yoon Seok-yeol campaign.