Saudi and Singapore wealth funds join $930 million pre-IPO bet on anime giant

Saudi and Singapore wealth funds join $930 million pre-IPO bet on anime giant

Dubai: Kakao Entertainment Corp. has won $930 million from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and Singapore, securing one of the country’s largest financing rounds. The company, a unit of Korean social media giant Kakao Corp., said it’s raising 1.2 trillion won by issuing about 2.26 million shares at 255,116 won apiece to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Singapore’s Pwarp Investment, an investment vehicle of GIC Pte. Kakao Entertainment, which runs a stable of apps that publish popular online animated shows and novels, will use the capital to expand its content. The company produces a slate of shows for Netflix, capitalizing on booming interest for Korean content from K-pop to movies since the advent of “Squid Game.” Kakao shares, which are down 37 per cent from a year ago, fell 0.7 per cent on Thursday. Saudi Arabia, which wants to lower its reliance on oil exports, has been beefing up investment in games and entertainment providers, such as Korea’s NCSoft Corp. as well as Tokyo-listed Nexon Co. PIF’s also lifted its stake in Japan’s Nintendo Co. to 6.1 per cent from 5 per cent, according to a filing. Singapore’s GIC has reportedly owned stakes in a broad portfolio