SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea\u2019s Kakao Entertainment Corp said on Tuesday it was acquiring U.S.-based online comic app Tapas and serialized fiction app Radish for $510 million and $440 million, respectively.<\/p>\n
The purchase will make Kakao, the online comic, talent agency and movie-making unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp, the latest South Korean entertainment firm to expand in North America as Korean entertainment\u2019s global reach widens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are planning to engage the North American market in earnest through the intellectual property (IP) business\u201d through the acquisitions, Kakao Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Jinsoo Lee told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust 80 Kakao IPs are responsible for half of Tapas\u2019 sales… Based on such growth data, we determined that Kakao Entertainment\u2019s growth formula in Korea or Japan was also possible in America and other English-speaking regions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kakao Entertainment has seen success with its online-based web cartoons or \u201cwebtoons\u201d at home and in Japan, with Kakao-backed \u2018Piccoma\u2019 becoming one of Japan\u2019s highest-grossing mobile apps outside games.<\/p>\n
Kakao also owns serialized fiction IPs, movie production companies, actors\u2019 talent agencies, K-pop artists\u2019 labels plus performance and content companies, making it \u201cunique\u201d in its ability to convert a single IP into many channels and forms, Radish CEO and founder Seungyoon Lee told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can literally take a web fiction into a webtoon then turn it into a TV drama and movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Radish adds to this smartphone-optimised \u201cbite-sized\u201d fiction from teams of writers, including some who have won Emmy Awards for soap operas, with revenue that jumped tenfold in 2020. Tapas\u2019 strength in \u201cwebtoons\u201d led to five-fold jump in sales in 2020, Kakao said.<\/p>\n
Radish previously received Series A funding from investors including SoftBank Group Corp\u2019s venture arm and Kakao.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, K-pop sensation BTS\u2019 agency HYBE announced the acquisition of Scooter Braun\u2019s Ithaca Holdings in a $1.05 billion deal.<\/p>\n
South Korea\u2019s tech giant Naver purchased Canada-based storytelling platform Wattpad for $600 million.<\/p>\n