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Metaverse

Naver Webtoon to acquire Korea’s virtual human maker

The deal will help Naver Webtoon obtain video production capabilities and start metaverse businesses

By Dec 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)

1 Min read

LOCUS' virtual human Rozy
LOCUS' virtual human Rozy

Naver Webtoon Ltd., the digital comics platform of South Korea’s online portal giant Naver Corp., is set to acquire the management rights of domestic video technology company LOCUS Corp., known for creating the virtual human Rozy.

The acquisition is to accelerate its moves to turn webtoons into video products and expand its businesses into the metaverse, industry sources said.

Naver Webtoon decided to buy a 52.19% stake in LOCUS for 23.5 billion won ($19.7 million), according to its filing to a financial regulator on Dec. 22. Naver Webtoon is scheduled to sign a deal soon to purchase the stake from To-Win Capital, a Chinese investment firm, and retail investors, investment banking industry sources said.

LOCUS, which produces ads and films, is regarded as one of the top players in the visual effects (VFX) sector. In 2019, it produced the computer-animated film Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs that screened in 123 countries around the world.

METAVERSE BUSINESS

LOCUS won fame after creating Rozy through its subsidiary Sidus Studio X. The digital human, which the company stylized as a 22-year-old female model born in Gangnam, Seoul, debuted in August 2020 and became the country’s first virtual influencer with 109,000 followers on Instagram.

“The deal enabled Naver Webtoon to obtain video production capabilities and Rozy’s awareness,” said an IB source.

The acquisition is also expected to help Naver Webtoon start metaverse-related businesses since it is likely to use its various webtoon characters in the metaverse space, utilizing LOCUS’ production capacity to create virtual humans.

Naver’s local competitor Kakao Corp. took a similar step earlier. Its entertainment platform Kakao M merged with Kakao Page, a content platform for webtoons and web novels, to create Kakao Entertainment Corp. in January.

Write to Jun-ho Cha and Min-Ki Koo at chacha@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.
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