Nvidia will invest $1 billion (approximately 1.34 trillion won) in Naver, becoming its third-largest shareholder.
Naver announced on the 30th that the payment date for the investment from Nvidia has been set for November 6.
According to a revised public announcement regarding the third-party allocation of new shares, the payment date has been changed from the previously scheduled October 30 to November 6, and the expected listing date for the new shares has been adjusted from November 20 to November 27.
Naver explained that it has met the prerequisite of securing a computing infrastructure worth at least $9 billion (approximately 12.15 trillion won) for this investment.
On the 27th, Naver announced that it had signed a contract with Brookfield for the acquisition of the $9 billion computing infrastructure. This includes the provision of AI infrastructure such as GPUs and data centers from Brookfield, fulfilling the conditions for Nvidia's strategic equity investment.
This investment is expected to accelerate the joint global AI factory project being pursued by Naver, Nvidia, and Brookfield.
Following the final determination of the number of shares to be issued on November 3, and upon completion of the payment on the 6th, Nvidia is expected to acquire approximately 4.54% of Naver's shares.
As of August this year, Naver's largest shareholder is the National Pension Service (9.49%), followed by BlackRock (7.31%). Nvidia is projected to become the third-largest shareholder.
The shareholding percentage of Naver's founder and board chairman, Lee Hae-jin, who is currently the third-largest shareholder, is expected to decrease from 4.03% to approximately 3.84% due to the issuance of new shares. However, the final shareholding percentage may vary based on the actual exchange rate applied to the number of shares issued.
Chairman Lee's decision to accept Nvidia as a strategic shareholder, despite the dilution of his shares, is interpreted as a choice to respond to global AI competition and expand the business base.
Last November, during a press conference announcing the merger between Naver Financial and Dunamu through a stock exchange, he stated regarding the decrease in his shareholding, "Business is a priority; my shareholding is not important."
Naver aims to enhance its competitiveness in the global market by expanding its AI factory business based on capital and business cooperation with Nvidia.
Earlier this year in July, Naver signed a new share subscription agreement with Nvidia and decided on a third-party allocation of new shares. The issuance price per share is set at 204,500 won, and the funds raised will be used for new business initiatives related to the AI factory.
The expected number of shares to be issued, 7,241,564 shares, and the raised amount of approximately 1.48 trillion won are provisional figures based on an exchange rate of 1,480.9 won per dollar.
The final number of shares issued and the amount raised in won will be confirmed on November 3, applying the average exchange rate from the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market, followed by a revised public announcement.
The new shares acquired by Nvidia will be electronically registered with the Korea Securities Depository and will be restricted from withdrawal and sale for one year.
An investment banking industry official stated, "Chairman Lee's acceptance of Nvidia as a strategic shareholder can be seen as a bold decision for Naver's survival and growth in the global AI power competition, and it will be a significant turning point in enhancing Naver's AI competitiveness."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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