Naver Acquires Wattpad

Canadian multi-platform entertainment company Wattpad announced on January 21, 2021 acquisition of Wattpad and WEBTOON™ by South Korean company Naver for “an estimated USD $600 million.” According to the announcement:

The acquisition will allow Wattpad to continue to accelerate its international growth and success. The company will remain headquartered in Canada under the continued leadership of founders Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen.

Wattpad and WEBTOON™ collectively have an audience of 160 million people. In 2019 Wattpad began publishing books, including print editions, many of them genre titles. The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 2021.

For more information, see the official announcement.

While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.

©Locus Magazine. Copyrighted material may not be republished without permission of LSFF.