Naver's 2 storytelling companies to merge

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's internet conglomerate Naver Corp. said Thursday that two storytelling companies under its wing will merge to strengthen their global competitiveness in digital content.

Wattpad Corp., a global multiplatform entertainment company for stories, and Webtoon, the world's largest digital comics platform, will merge their studio divisions to create Wattpad Webtoon Studios, Naver said.

Naver said it will invest US$100 million into Wattpad Webtoon Studios for development and production financing.

Based on a combined audience of more than 166 million people, Wattpad Webtoon Studios will be able to create the world's most innovative content, officials said.

Recently, Naver acquired Canadian entertainment platform operator Wattpad in a transaction valued at 653.3 billion won.

The Toronto-based storytelling platform provides stories through its flagship app. It is a community of more than 90 million people globally who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories.

khj@yna.co.kr
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