Naver's subsidiary Webtoon Entertainment is pursuing a listing on the US Nasdaq market, prompting a reevaluation of the corporate value of listed webtoon companies. Attention is focused on Suseong Webtoon’s subsidiary Toomics and affiliate Toomics Global, as they are webtoon supply partners of Naver Webtoon.
As of 1:30 PM on the 7th, Suseong Webtoon was trading at 635 KRW, up 19 KRW (3.09%) from the previous trading day.
Junho Lee, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated in a recent report, "Nasdaq listings typically take six to twelve months after submitting the S-1 form," and analyzed, "Webtoon Entertainment could potentially be listed on Nasdaq as early as July." He added, "The number of works adapted into videos based on Naver Webtoon IP was 25 in 2022, 29 in 2023, and is expected to exceed 30 this year," and "In the North American market, investments will be made focusing on managing and producing core IP."
Furthermore, he said, "Visible results in IP sales are expected after the listing," and "If concrete plans such as additional M&A and collaborations for North American market penetration, funded by the capital raised after Webtoon Entertainment’s listing, lead to confirmed growth in previously stagnant sales, it will also contribute to Naver’s corporate value."
Suseong Webtoon is a partner company supplying webtoons to Naver Webtoon through its subsidiary Toomics and affiliate Toomics Global. The cumulative page views of Toomics’ top 10 popular webtoons in the English-speaking market have surpassed 100 million. Toomics recorded sales of 57.4 billion KRW and an operating profit of 10.3 billion KRW last year. Suseong Webtoon holds a 41% stake in Toomics.
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