The acquisition is part of its effort to diversify the business under the circumstances of tightening regulation on online games in Korea. (image: Kobizmedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – NHN Entertainment took the first step to enter the e-commerce market in Korea. The game company announced on September 4 that it would purchase 5.1 million shares of Korea Cyber Payment at the cost of 64.19 billion won, or about US$62.7 million.
After its paid-in capital increase, the Korean game publisher will be the largest shareholder of the e-commerce company, owning 30.15 percent of the total shares.
The acquisition is part of its effort to diversify the business under the circumstances of tightening regulation on online games in Korea. NHN Entertainment acquired Ticketlink, a cultural performance ticket selling website, in May followed by the purchase of a job search website Incruit, in June.
The purchase is expected to create a synergy effect in making gamers buy game items easier. Korea Cyber Payment, based in Seoul, offers e-money payment and settlement services.
By Veronica Huh (veronicah@koreabizwire.com)
