The largest shareholder of Kakao Games will change to Japan's LY Corporation (Line Yahoo). Japan's Line Yahoo will acquire part of Kakao Games' equity to become the largest shareholder, and Kakao will step back to the No. 2 shareholder.
Kakao Games said on the 25th that an investment-purpose vehicle funded by Line Yahoo, "LAAA Investment," will acquire part of Kakao Games' equity from Kakao and will also participate in the purchase of convertible bonds to be issued by Kakao Games.
If the transaction is completed in May, LAAA Investment will rise to become the largest shareholder of Kakao Games. Kakao will become the No. 2 shareholder, holding about 14% of Kakao Games' equity.
Through this transaction, Kakao Games will secure funding of about 300 billion won. Kakao will also reinvest part of the proceeds from the sale of existing shares in this transaction to continue its collaboration with Kakao Games.
Through this transaction, Kakao Games aims to strengthen financial stability and lay the groundwork for mid- to long-term growth and global business expansion. In particular, it plans to broaden the collaboration base with the new largest shareholder in major global markets, including Japan. A company representative said this is a strategic decision for Kakao Games to leap beyond the domestic market to become a global game and content corporations.
Meanwhile, Kakao specified in this contract the job security of employees and the succession of existing working conditions. It plans to support the stable continuation of the organizational capabilities and corporate culture that Kakao Games has built up.
A Kakao Games representative said the attraction of this strategic investment and the restructuring of the equity structure is an important turning point that will raise Kakao Games' global competitiveness by one level and lay the foundation for sustainable growth, adding that the company will expand new growth opportunities in the global market based on cooperation with partners including Kakao and LY Corporation.