SK Square, CJ ENM invest $180 million in Wavve to propel Tving merger

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SK Square, CJ ENM invest $180 million in Wavve to propel Tving merger

Published: 27 Nov. 2024, 19:57

Logos of Tving, left, and Wavve [SCREEN CAPTURE]

SK Square and CJ ENM said Wednesday they had invested a combined 250 billion won ($179.5 million) in Wavve as part of their ongoing plan to merge the Korean streaming platform with its rival, Tving.

As the largest shareholders of Wavve and Tving, respectively, the two companies purchased 150 billion won and 100 billion won worth of Wavve's convertible bonds, according to a regulatory filing.

Convertible bonds are a type of debt that the holder can convert into a specified number of shares of common stock in the issuing company.

Wavve, which reported an operating loss of 80.4 billion won last year, will utilize the funds to repay 200 billion won worth of maturing convertible bonds.

SK Square and CJ ENM emphasized that the strategic investment aims to strengthen the business collaboration between Wavve and Tving and enhance their content production capabilities.

This Wavve-Tving merger is a response to growing competition from global streaming giants like Netflix.

Upon integration, CJ ENM is expected to become the largest shareholder of the integrated platform.

Recent industry data showed that Netflix is leading the Korean streaming market, recording 11 million monthly active users in the first half of 2024, followed by Tving's 7.4 million.

Yonhap