In this file photo, a visitor looks at exhibits during the 2023 Webtoon Job Festa held at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul on Nov. 28, 2023. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Online comics company Webtoon Entertainment Inc., owned by South Korea’s top internet platform, Naver, has set a price of US$21 per share, the top of its pricing range, for its plan to list itself on the U.S. stock market, as it seeks to become a “Disney in Asia.”
In a statement released Wednesday (U.S. time), Los Angeles, California-based Webtoon “announced the pricing of its initial public offering of an aggregate of 15,000,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $21 per share.”
Based on the price, Webtoon will raise $315 million via the initial public offering (IPO).
Webtoon is set to list its shares on Nasdaq on Thursday (U.S. time) under the ticker symbol WBTN, and the company’s targeted valuation is worth up to $2.7 billion.
Webtoon “has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions,” the company said in a statement.
The IPO is part of Naver’s strategy to become a more global webtoon platform.
Webtoon’s vision is “to inspire people all over the world with story-oriented entertainment services.”
Webtoons, a type of digital comics originating from South Korea about 10 years ago and usually meant to be read on smartphones, have seen their popularity reach outside their home base and hook international readers in Asia, North America and Europe.
Inspired by a wide fan base and creative subjects, a number of webtoons have been adapted into Korean drama series on streaming platforms and local TV channels with success in recent years.
For instance, Kang Full’s hit webtoons have offered abundant sources for several films and dramas, but writing the script for Disney+ drama series “Moving” based on his superhero webtoon marked a turning point for the pioneer of the Korean webtoon industry.
“Moving,” Kang’s eponymous webtoon that has garnered over 200 million views since its release in 2015, tells the story of a group of superpowered individuals who hide their true abilities from the world in order to protect their families from danger.
In 2021, Naver acquired Canadian entertainment platform operator Wattpad Corp., eventually forming Webtoon in the U.S.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are acting as lead bookrunning managers for the proposed offering of Webtoon.
(Yonhap)
