Daum Kakao acquires app for children at day cares

Daum Kakao, the nation’s top mobile messenger and Web portal operator, said Monday that it has acquired Kids Note, an app that notifies parents about their children’s lives while they are at day care or kindergarten.

About 14,000 kindergartens or day care centers, or 30 percent of the total in Korea, have registered with Kids Note.

A child’s teacher can post schedules, lunch menus, photographs and other announcements on the app, which parents can check on their mobile devices. Despite its acquisition by Daum Kakao, Kids Note will continue to operate under its current independent management team.

The messenger and portal company are planning to expand the service by developing Kids Note’s marketing and services.

“Kids Note, which started off as a smart notice app, is growing rapidly based on the relationship between child care centers and parents,” said Joo Young-joon, who is in charge of investment strategies at Daum Kakao. “We will be able to provide more convenient services for child care institutions and parents by connecting Daum Kakao’s communications platform with offline businesses.”

“Thanks to the acquisition by Daum Kakao, Kids Note can make a new leap forward,” said Kim Yong-joon, the CEO of Kids Note. “By maximizing cooperation with Daum Kakao, we will strive to make Kids Note the No. 1 platform for kids’ content and smart memos.”

On the Kosdaq, Daum Kakao, which is the largest company by market cap, jumped 5.32 percent to close at 144,500 won ($130).

Analysts predict that investor sentiment in Daum Kakao is improving thanks to high expectations for fintech services this year and its revenue from advertisements.

Samsung Securities maintained a 200,000 won target stock price and buying position for Daum Kakao, which said that the company looked promising.

“Thanks to increased revenue from Kakao Story’s advertising products, revenue from advertisements will surge 41.5 percent quarter on quarter, posting 25 billion won in the fourth quarter,” said Oh Dong-hwan, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

“This will resolve widespread concerns about the growth potential of Kakao’s advertising products. Also, the government’s policy to boost fintech will likely lower barriers in the financial industry.”

BY KIM JUNG-YOON [kjy@joongang.co.kr]