AAA Kakao to acquire internet portal Daum

Kakao to acquire internet portal Daum

Korea-based messaging service Kakao has agreed to acquire Korea-based, publicly-listed internet portal Daum Communications in a reverse takeover that will allow Kakao to secure a public listing, Bloomberg has reported.

The deal values Kakao at roughly $3bn, according to a regulatory filing by Daum.

Investors in Kakao include internet service provider Tencent, which paid $63.7m for a 13.5% stake in the company in May 2012, and internet company CyberAgent, which invested in Kakao in 2011 alongside Korea Investment Partners, DCM, and Maverick Capital.

Conglomerate Berjaya bought a 0.4% share in Kakao in February 2014 for $10m, at a $2.3bn valuation.

Kakao’s shareholders will receive approximately 1.56 shares of the merged company for each of their shares, while each shareholder opposed to the deal will receive about KRW 113,000 ($111.00) per share.

Trading of Daum’s shares have been suspended while regulatory authorities assess the deal, but Kakao plans to rename the business Daum Kakao and to relist the new entity in October. Kakao Chairman Kim Beom Su had previously stated that Kakao would aim to float in 2015.

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