Naver, CJ to swap shares to boost edge in e-commerce, entertainment

Top South Korean online portal operator Naver inked a share-swap deal worth 600 billion won with entertainment and logistics firm CJ Group to boost their competitive edge in e-commerce and entertainment.

Under the deal, Naver will acquire a 7.85 percent stake in CJ Logistics Corp., a parcel delivery company, a 6.26 percent stake in Studio Dragon, a drama production company owned by CJ ENM, and a 5 percent stake in entertainment giant CJ ENM Corp.

In turn, Naver will distribute shares with the same value to the three CJ Group units.

The stakes in Naver to be held by CJ Logistics, CJ ENM, and Studio Dragon are 0.64 percent, 0.32 percent, and 0.32 percent, respectively.

The strategic tie-up is designed to create a new cooperative model in e-commerce and content to strengthen their competitive edge against foreign rivals, such as US streaming company Netflix.

Netflix has the most active mobile application users among over-the-top services in South Korea as of May, with an estimated 6.37 million.

Local player Wavve had at 3.46 million followed by Seezn at 2.36 million.