(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 3-5, 7-9; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- Naver Financial Corp., the fintech subsidiary of South Korea's leading portal operator Naver Corp., on Wednesday decided to acquire Dunamu Inc., the operator of the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as a wholly owned subsidiary, the company said.
Naver Financial's decision to acquire Dunamu in a share-swap deal was approved at a board meeting, the company said in a regulatory filing. Each Dunamu share will be exchanged at 2.54 shares in Naver Financial.
The decision was reached in order for Naver Financial to "secure new future growth engines based on digital assets," Naver Financial said.
Upbit is the country's No. 1 and the world's fourth-largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume.
Once completed, the deal will place Dunamu under Naver Financial, positioning Naver to expand its portfolio into digital finance and strengthen its foothold in the fast-growing blockchain-based services sector. It is also expected to create a new mega financial platform with an estimated value of about 20 trillion won (US$13.6 billion).
The companies are expected to seek shareholder approval before formally initiating integration procedures.
Industry watchers expect Naver Financial to launch a won-backed stablecoin project, along with other digital finance initiatives, a move that could reshape South Korea's digital finance landscape, once the integration is finalized.
"The two companies are apparently seeking to accelerate the establishment of a won-based stablecoin ecosystem in Korea," Lee Ji-eun, an analyst at Daeshin Securities, said. "They seem to be aiming to issue a stablecoin, link it to Naver Pay and secure real-world payment use cases."
Chung Ui-hoon, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, said Naver is "poised to take a leading role in the domestic won-based stablecoin market," highlighting its already broad digital platform ecosystem ranging from e-commerce to online webtoons.