South Korean Internet giant Naver is buying online second-hand clothing marketplace Poshmark, for about $1.2 billion, the companies said on Tuesday.
The deal, which Naver says is worth a total of about $1.6 billion when Poshmark’s money is included, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, the companies said.
Naver, a highly influential search engine and e-commerce platform in South Korea, will pay $17.90 per share for the cash transaction.
Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said in a statement. “Poshmark is a natural fit for our business—our two companies share values and visions for content, community, and impact.”
Combining Naver and Poshmark immediately puts us at the forefront of creating a new, socially responsible and sustainable shopping experience for sellers of all sizes and shapes.
Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra called the South Korean company “one of the world’s leading, most innovative, and successful online companies” and said the deal would provide “significant and immediate value to our shareholders.”
“As part of Naver, we will leverage their financial resources, significant technological capabilities, and leading presence in Asia to expand our platform,” Chandra added.
During the pandemic, the resale market was especially booming, as it encouraged people in quarantine to clean out their closets and resell things they no longer wanted.
The deal will allow Naver to “take advantage of consumers’ growing shift to online reselling of fashion goods,” the companies said.
Online apparel retail is currently an $80 billion market in the United States alone, and is expected to grow to $130 billion annually by 2025, according to Activate Consulting.
The South Korean company bought the online story platform Wattpad in Toronto last year for about $600 million. However, its stock was down 8.53 percent in Seoul on Tuesday afternoon. (AFP)
“Combining Naver and Poshmark immediately puts us at the forefront of creating a new, socially responsible and sustainable shopping experience for sellers of all sizes and interests.”
Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra called the South Korean company “one of the world’s leading, most innovative, and successful Internet companies” and said the deal would provide “significant and immediate value to our shareholders.”
In May, Choi announced that Naver plans to build a “global business ecosystem” in Japan, North America, and Europe over the next five years to double annual revenue to $12.2 billion and reach 1 billion monthly active users.
With the support of Naver, Poshmark is pursuing a broader international expansion strategy in the medium term, including into other developed markets in Asia. Founded in 2011, Poshmark’s app and website allow users to list either used or new clothing for sale, and the company receives a 20% commission on all sales over $15.
Similar to other resale platforms such as Depop and Mercari, owned by Japanese billionaire Shintaro Yamada, the platform supports user-to-user interactions as well as items and comments.
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