Naver Buys Wattpad for $593M, Uniting 160M Readers Worldwide
Naver, South Korea's leading search engine, is expanding its global reach with a significant acquisition. The company is buying Canadian entertainment platform operator Wattpad in a stock deal worth $593.6 million. This move will unite Wattpad with Naver's Line Webtoon, creating a combined reader base of over 160 million monthly users worldwide.
The acquisition, set to close in the second half of 2021, will see Wattpad, a Toronto-based storytelling platform with 90 million users, join forces with Line Webtoon, Naver's popular comic and webtoon service boasting 70 million monthly active users. This fusion will not result in new companies but rather a unification of the two platforms under Naver's umbrella.
Naver aims to strengthen its North American business and diversify its global content offerings with this acquisition. Wattpad, with its over 23 billion minutes of user engagement per month, will bring a wealth of original stories and a massive user base to the table. Line Webtoon, known for its creator-owned content ranging from romance to fantasy and available in multiple languages, will provide a robust platform for these stories.
The acquisition of Wattpad by Naver is a strategic move that will significantly expand Naver's global presence and content offerings. With a combined reader base of over 160 million, the united platforms will provide a vast stage for creators and a rich library of content for users. The deal is expected to close in the latter half of 2021, marking a significant milestone for both companies and the global entertainment landscape.
