이 기사는 2021년 04월 16일 06:05 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korean internet giant Naver is in talks to buy a controlling stake in the country’s web fiction platform Munpia from a consortium of S2L Partners and KDB Capital, industry sources said on Wednesday. The two sides are expected to sign an agreement as early as this month.

The internet giant is looking to buy an entire controlling stake of 64.42% in Munpia Investment Purpose Company, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that has control of the web novel platform. The consortium of S2L Partners and KDB Capital, the largest shareholder of Munpia, bought the management rights through the SPV for 35 billion won ($31 million) in 2016.

The consortium now owns 55% of the SPV and Munpia founder Kim Hwan-cheol has 45%. Kim will offload its shares alongside the consortium.

The deal structure and size may change as Munpia’s second and third largest shareholders, China Literature Limited (CLL) and NCSoft, have both tag-along rights and call options.

Munpia is reportedly valued at more than 300 billion won in the latest deal. Its enterprise value has increased by nearly six times in about five years as S2L Partners and KDB Capital valued the company at 50 billion won in 2016.

Founded in 2002, Munpia is the fourth largest web fiction platform in Korea after Naver, Kakao, and Ridibooks, with more than 47,000 registered writers.

In 2018, China-based Tencent’s subsidiary CLL and NCSoft jointly invested 25 billion won in the web fiction platform to own 25.22% and 6.23% of the company, respectively.

Munpia recorded revenue of 41.7 billion won in 2020, a nearly two-fold increase from 28.7 billion won from a year ago. Operating profit grew from 5.2 billion won to 7.3 billion won and net profit increased from 4.4 billion won to 6.3 billion won. Munpia has a strong financial position with 30 billion won of net cash and no long-term debt.

Munpia hired Daishin Securities to lead preparations for its initial public offering. It is planning to list its shares by the end of this year, which may change depending on how the sale process goes.

Naver’s rival Kakao also reportedly sought to acquire Munpia. The two internet giants are actively looking to invest in lucrative intellectual property businesses, with many films and TV shows adapted from digital cartoons and novels gaining popularity in recent years globally.

Naver acquired the world’s largest social storytelling platform Wattpad for $600 million earlier this year while Kakao is currently in talks to acquire U.S.-based online fiction app Radish and Tapas Media. (Reporting by Si-eun Park)