Naver Webtoon starts IPO process for Nasdaq

[WEBTOON ENTERTAINMENT]

Naver Webtoon has started the administrative process to go public on the U.S. Nasdaq market.

The webtoon platform, also known as Webtoon Entertainment in the U.S., headquartered in Los Angeles, has filed for a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 31, according to the commission's database.

The number of shares being offered through the initial public offering (IPO) and their prices have not been disclosed, but Bloomberg predicts that the company could seek a maximum valuation of $4 billion by raising $500 million through the IPO.

The IPO will be led by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Evercore among others, according to the SEC registration statement.

Naver Webtoon, one of the pioneers of digital cartoons, advanced into the U.S. market in 2014 before establishing a local entity in 2020.

Webtoon Entertainment now offers its content to more than 150 countries.

"To share stories, to empower creators and to build community" are the motivations behind the Webtoon Entertainment's business, according to a letter from Kim Jun-koo, founder and CEO of the company, included in the SEC registration.

"That is what has driven me and the entire organization for the last two decades. And that will continue to be our strategy going forward as a public company."

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]