Kurly CI. Photo courtesy of Kurly
Kurly said Thursday it will further strengthen its strategic partnership with Naver (035420.KS) through a 33 billion won ($24 million) third-party allocation capital increase.
The planned issuance consists of 498,882 common shares at an issue price of 66,148 won per share. The issue price was determined through an agreement between the two companies. Following the capital increase, Naver’s stake in Kurly will rise to 6.2% from the current 5.1%. Kurly’s corporate value was assessed at 2.8 trillion won ($2 billion).
Kurly plans to use the funds secured through this capital increase as resources to build a foundation for mid- to long-term growth, including expanding logistics infrastructure and advancing new businesses.
Naver will acquire all of the newly issued shares and aims to further solidify its partnership with Kurly. The two companies signed a strategic alliance in April last year and subsequently launched “Kurly N Mart,” an online grocery specialty section, on Naver Plus Store in September of the same year.
“With this investment as a starting point, the two companies will further strengthen their cooperative relationship as strategic partners and plan to achieve tangible synergy and rapid growth,” Kurly CEO Sophie Kim said.