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| Headquarters of Naver in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Naver |
Korean internet portal giant Naver said Tuesday it will take over Posh, a U.S. social commerce marketplace for fashion, for 2.3 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in a bid to broaden its business portfolio to North America.
According to its filing, the company will buy a 100 percent stake, or 1.3 million shares, in Poshmark worth a total of 2.3 trillion won.
The acquisition will be completed by April 4 next year, and Poshmark will become one of Naver's affiliates.
Founded in 2011, California-based Poshmark is one of the biggest online shopping platforms stateside, where users can buy and sell new and secondhand clothing, and other home goods. It has over 80 million users.
Naver said the deal is part of its long-term strategy to build a global portfolio linking Korea, Japan, and Europe with North America, and increase its competitiveness in the global e-commerce market.
And it will combine its technology, and content and entertainment businesses, like live commerce and webtoons, with Poshmark's shopping platform, and seek ways to expand new business models.
"Naver has secured an important foothold to understand the young generation in North America," Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said in a statement. "We will offer new experiences ranging from shopping, webtoon, and K-pop content to future customers, and create a new trend in the global customer-to-customer market."
Naver, Korea's No. 1 internet portal operator, has increased investment into online fashion marketplaces at home and abroad, including Kream in Korea, Vintage City in Japan and Vestiaire Collective in Europe. (Yonhap)
