M&A Deal Summary

Naver Acquires Wattpad

On January 19, 2021, Naver acquired internet software and services company Wattpad for 600M USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Naver’s 3rd transaction in the Internet Software and Services sector.
  • This is Naver’s 2nd largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Naver’s 1st transaction in Canada.
  • This is Naver’s 1st transaction in Ontario.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2021-01-19
Target Wattpad
Sector Internet Software and Services
Buyer(s) Naver
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Deal Value 600M USD
Advisor(s) The Raine Group LLC (Financial)
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (Legal)

Target

Wattpad

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Wattpad is a platform to read and share stories on the web and mobile devices. Wattpad’s flagship app is a social storytelling platform, home to a community of more than 90 million people who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Wattpad was founded in 2006 and is based in Toronto, Ontario.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Naver

Seongnam, South Korea
Category Company
Founded 1999
Sector Internet Software and Services
Employees4,390
Revenue 9.67T KRW (2023)
DESCRIPTION

NAVER is an Internet company, operating the nation’s top search portal “Naver” (www.naver.com), Korea’s first online children’s portal “Jr. Naver” (jr.naver.com), and the nation’s first online donation portal “Happybean” (happybean.naver.com). NAVER was founded in 1999 and is based in Seongnam, South Korea.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 3 of 4
Sector (Internet Software and Services) 3 of 4
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 2
State (Ontario) 1 of 1
Country (Canada) 1 of 1
Year (2021) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 2 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-06-26 Xerox Research Centre Europe

Meylan, France

Xerox Research Centre Europe centre has focused its research in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing and ethnography.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2022-10-03 Poshmark

Redwood City, California, United States

Poshmark is a social marketplace for new and secondhand styles for women, men, kids, home, and more. Poshmark was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

Buy $1.2B
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal