![]() ![]() “The acquisition should serve as an opportunity for Kakao Games to target the global market in earnest.”īefore Lionheart, Kim previously cofounded another online game company, Action Square, in 2012, which went public on the Korea Exchange via a special purpose acquisition company in 2015. ![]() “With the acquisition of a majority stake in Lionheart Studio, the developer of hit title Odin, Kakao Games is to bolster its development capabilities and secure significant earnings growth,” NH Investment & Securities analyst Jaemin Ahn said in a research note. MORE FROM FORBES Shares Of Little-Known Korean Game Company Soar After A Big Leap Into Blockchain By John Kang The other major shareholder is Wemade, which holds a 4.23% stake after selling almost half of its Lionheart stake to Kakao Games. Together with its European arm, Kakao Games, which is part of billionaire Kim Beom-su’s internet conglomerate Kakao, owns a majority of Lionheart. Kakao Games has gradually increased its stake in Lionheart over the years, and now owns 24.57% of the company. Kim founded Lionheart in 2018 primarily with investments from Kakao Games and game developer Wemade, a pioneer of blockchain-based games in South Korea. Lionheart’s IPO would be the largest by a South Korean game company since that of billionaire Chang Byung-gyu’s Krafton, which raised $3.8 billion in August last year on the Korea Exchange. Local newspaper Maeil Business Newspaper reported that Lionheart could be valued as high as 8 trillion won ($6 billion), citing analyst estimates. They are planning to sign a contract with NICE Information & Telecommunication regarding a joint application sometime in February at the earliest.Based in Seongnam, south of Seoul, Lionheart is preparing for an initial public offering, says a company spokesperson. This will be the first time when a joint payment service is created by different credit card companies. “Once a joint application is created, we will be able to drastically improve level of convenience for our customers.” “We are currently discussing about using one joint application made by NICE Information & Telecommunication.” said a representative for Lotte Card. It is heard that other credit card companies that had been working on developing their own applications have turned their directions towards creating one joint QR code payment application. ![]() However, there was a sign of rift between credit card companies as Lotte Card and KB Card signed contracts with SEEROO Information and NICE Information & Telecommunication respectively.Īlthough it is necessary for them to have one operator in the middle to have one joint QR code payment service, there was a sign of conflict as they had two different operators.Īs a result, CEOs from credit card companies ordered for a quick resolution resulting in creating a joint application to maximize versatility with Lotte Card leading the charge.Īlthough Lote Card and BC Card started operating two different applications, they are planning to link all of their applications once a joint application is created. Afterwards, Samsung Card, Hyundai Card, and KB Card announced that they would be joining Lotte Card, Shinhan Card, and BC Card. Previously, Lotte Card, Shinhan Card, and BC Card launched a joint QR code payment service. ![]() It is a similar structure compared to that of Bank Wallet Kakao created by 16 commercial banks and Kakao in the past. They are planning to create a comprehensive wallet that is linked to QR codes of each credit card payment and they are also looking into a way of sharing reward and point benefits provided by each credit card company.īy doing so, customers can only download single application and use QR code services from all 6 credit card companies.Īccording to industries, these 6 credit card companies are currently working on developing a joint application that will be operated by NICE Information & Telecommunication. Lotte Card, Shinhan Card, BC Card, Samsung Card, Hyundai Card, and KB Card are planning to establish a ‘super comprehensive application’ to expand their QR code payment service. ![]()
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