Naver Webtoon is expected to debut on the U.S. stock market as early as June.
On the 19th (local time), Bloomberg reported that Naver has selected Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters for the U.S. stock listing of Webtoon Entertainment. Webtoon Entertainment is the headquarters of Naver Webtoon, established in North America in 2020.
The target timing for the listing is June this year. It may vary depending on market conditions.
Bloomberg, citing sources, estimated the corporate value of Webtoon Entertainment to be between $3 billion and $4 billion (approximately 4.065 trillion to 5.342 trillion KRW). It is expected to raise up to $500 million through this listing. In this regard, Naver Webtoon has not issued any statement.
The possibility of Naver Webtoon listing on the U.S. stock market has been steadily discussed for several years. Sangjin Park, Naver's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), mentioned the possibility of listing in an interview with Bloomberg in 2021. Additionally, last year, Suyeon Choi, CEO of Naver, directly announced plans to pursue a U.S. listing in 2024.
Naver Webtoon's recent strong performance also supports the possibility of an early listing.
According to Naver's Q4 earnings report last year, the global integrated transaction amount for webtoons recorded 444 billion KRW, a 9.3% increase compared to the same period the previous year. It achieved a positive annual EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for the first time. EBITDA is one of the representative indicators showing a company's cash-generating ability.
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