TechnologyS.Korea s Kakao to buy two U.S. storytelling apps for $950 mln
Joyce Lee
3 minute read
South Korea s 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.
The purchase will make Kakao, the online comic, talent agency and movie-making unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp (035720.KS), the latest South Korean entertainment firm to expand in North America as Korean entertainment s global reach widens. We are planning to engage the North American market in earnest through the intellectual property (IP) business through the acquisitions, Kakao Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Jinsoo Lee told Reuters.
Press release content from PR Newswire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.
Kakao Entertainment Acquires Tapas and Radish Media, Two Leading U.S.-based storytelling platforms
May 11, 2021 GMT
Kakao Entertainment Acquires Tapas and Radish Media
SEOUL, South Korea, May 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ Kakao Entertainment signed definitive agreements on May 7 to acquire two storytelling platforms based in the U.S., Tapas Media, Inc. (hereafter Tapas) and Radish Media, Inc. (hereafter Radish). The acquisitions pave the way for Kakao Entertainment to expand its original content business in North America and other English-speaking regions. The company has already secured a dominant market share in Japan through its affiliate comic platform Piccoma.
Kakao to buy online novel app Radish for US$440m
AFP, SEOUL
Online fiction app Radish is being bought for US$440 million by South Korean Internet conglomerate Kakao Corp, the two firms said yesterday, making a multi-millionaire of its 30-year-old founder only five years after he set it up.
The deal is one of two acquisitions that Kakao announced yesterday totaling nearly US$1 billion, as it seeks to expand in English-language markets.
Pay-to-read platform Radish presents serialized storytelling in bite-sized installments optimized for smartphones, with readers paying about US$0.20 to US$0.30 to access the next episode immediately, or wait for an hour to read it for free.
Spotify, Kakao agree to global music licensing deal - In a big relief for K-pop fans, South Korean music distributor Kakao Entertainment music streaming giant Spotify.
March 12, 2021
Instagram/SEVENTEEN
K-pop fans can finally listen to their favourite music and artists once again now that Kakao Entertainment (previously Kakao M) and Spotify have settled their disputes.
A week ago, k-pop fans awoke to some of their favourite k-pop music and artists removed from the music streaming service
. Artists under Kakao Entertainment (previously Kakao M), such as Mamamoo, Seventeen and Monsta X were some of the many artists that had their music removed from Spotify. The removal was due to failed negotiations between the entertainment company and the streaming service.
Both fans and artists were shocked and disappointed by Kakao Entertainment’s failure. During the brief period, artists HyunA and Jessi moved to Psy’s label P NATION and group Epik High moved to OURS Co. so that they can re-upload their songs to Spotify.