WEBTOON Entertainment said on 10 August that it had agreed to acquire about 60% of RI Games Holdings, a South Korean developer of games based on webcomic intellectual property, for about KRW 150bn.
Why WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. is buying RI Games Holdings Inc.
WEBTOON described the deal as a strategic investment to develop and release multiple games based on established webtoon titles with global fan bases over the next four years. RI Games' slate includes games based on Overgeared, Doom Breaker and Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.
Deal terms and financing
WEBTOON will buy 2,999 shares for about KRW 50.0bn at a first closing and 6,001 shares for about KRW 100.0bn at a second closing, at KRW 16,666,667 a share, from Redice & Company. A shareholders' agreement allows capital increases of up to KRW 50bn through June 2030, with revenue-linked purchase and sale rights.
Regulatory approvals and timing
The second closing depends on a specified commercial launch milestone for a game being developed by an RI Games subsidiary; WEBTOON expects to consolidate RI Games after that closing.
Market context
The first title is an action MMORPG based on Overgeared, developed by GrayGames and published globally by Nexon, timed to coincide with an Overgeared anime premiering in October.
