Naver’s Webtoon Entertainment targets up to $2.67 billion valuation in US IPO

Webtoon Entertainment, the online comics platform owned by South Korean tech giant Naver, announced on Monday its plans to seek a valuation of up to $2.67 billion in its upcoming U.S. initial public offering.

The platform originally debuted in South Korea as Naver Webtoon before launching globally as Line Webtoon in July 2014. Webtoon quickly gained significant traction during the late 2000s and early 2010s, establishing a strong presence in the digital comics market.

Webstoon aims to raise up to $315 million by offering 15 million shares at a price range of $18 to $21 each. Based in Los Angeles, Webtoon joins a wave of companies eager to capitalize on the growing investor interest in stock market listings, buoyed by expectations of a soft landing for the U.S. economy.

Webtoon, which is majority-owned by Naver, was founded nearly two decades ago by CEO Junkoo Kim, who initially developed it as a side project while working as a search engineer at Naver. Catering primarily to Gen Z and millennial users, the platform offers a vast library of web comics and novels, spanning fantasy, romance, and science fiction genres.

As of the end of March, Webtoon boasts a community of 24 million creators and nearly 170 million monthly active users across more than 150 countries. The platform’s primary competitor is the South Korean tech conglomerate, Kakao Corp.

Asset manager BlackRock has expressed interest in purchasing up to $50 million worth of shares in the IPO, while Naver’s U.S. subsidiary, Naver U.Hub, has agreed to buy $50 million worth of shares in a private placement transaction.

Following the IPO and a private placement, Naver will retain a 63.4% stake in Webtoon. The platform is set to debut on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “WBTN,” Reuters reported.

Webtoon’s largest shareholders include Naver and Tokyo-based LY Corp, the latter of which is majority-owned by a joint venture between SoftBank and Naver. Post-IPO, Naver’s stake in Webtoon will stand at 63.4%, solidifying its control over the rapidly growing digital comics platform.

We covered Naver two years ago after the South Korean internet giant acquired the popular online fashion marketplace Poshmark in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. Poshmark is a popular secondhand retailer and the largest fashion consumer-to-consumer platform in North America.