South Korea's Naver-backed Webtoon sees shares jump 14% in Nasdaq debut, with strong market debut

From Investing.com: 2024-06-27 19:01:46

Shares of online comics platform Webtoon Entertainment surged 14.3% above IPO price in Nasdaq debut, hitting $24 before settling at $22.86 by midday. Backed by Naver, the company raised $315 million, with a valuation of $2.71 billion. The strong debut bodes well for upcoming IPOs as summer market heats up.

Webtoon, a storytelling platform with genres like fantasy and romance, was founded by CEO Junkoo Kim in 2005. Webtoon sold 2.4 million shares privately to Naver during IPO for around $50 million. Webtoons are digitally created comics made for mobile, with a Korean format popular on a global scale due to cultural exports.

Popular webtoons like “Lore Olympus” and “The Sound of Your Heart” have been adapted into dramas and movies, attracting a global audience on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. With the success of K-pop and K-dramas, webtoons continue to gain popularity for their visually appealing and easily accessible format.



Read more at Investing.com: South Korea’s Naver-backed Webtoon shares jump about 14% in Nasdaq debut By Reuters