Kurly to Sell 33 Billion Won in New Shares to Naver, Raising Stake to 6.2%

Retail tech company Kurly is moving to deepen its partnership with Naver.
 
Kurly said in a regulatory filing on the 6th that it will carry out a third-party allotment paid-in capital increase for Naver.
 
Kurly will issue 498,882 new common shares at 66,148 won per share. Naver will subscribe to all of the newly issued shares, Kurly said.
 
The issue price was set by mutual agreement based on Kurly’s most recent fundraising round, the company said. Based on that, Kurly’s overall valuation is estimated at about 2.8 trillion won. After the capital increase is completed, Naver’s stake in Kurly will rise to 6.2%.
 
Kurly said it plans to use the 33 billion won raised to support mid- to long-term growth, including expanding logistics infrastructure, a key to delivery competitiveness, and funding new businesses.
 
Kurly and Naver signed a strategic partnership in April last year and have expanded cooperation, including opening the “KurlyN Mart” grocery section on the Naver Plus Store in September of the same year.
 
Kurly Nextmile, Kurly’s logistics subsidiary, handles dawn delivery for products sold through Naver Smart Store and Brand Store, the company said.
 
Kurly CEO Kim Seul-a said, “With this investment as a turning point, the two companies plan to further strengthen cooperation as strategic partners and achieve meaningful synergy and rapid growth.”
 
Kurly said its consolidated revenue last year rose 7.8% from a year earlier to 2.3671 trillion won. Operating profit came to 13.1 billion won, swinging to a profit from an 18.3 billion won operating loss a year earlier. Gross merchandise value increased 13.5% to 3.5340 trillion won.
 
The company attributed improved profitability to balanced growth in its core fresh food business and its Beauty Kurly cosmetics unit, as well as results from KurlyN Mart. Samsung Securities said KurlyN Mart’s monthly transaction volume has increased by more than 50% each month since launch.