(Bloomberg) — Webtoon Entertainment Inc. is investing in a Japanese webcomic and manga studio as part of the online comic company’s global expansion strategy.
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LINE Digital Frontier, the Japanese operation of Webtoon, is buying a minority stake in No. 9. a Tokyo-based company that produces popular webcomics such as Savior of Divine Blood. The deal, Webtoon’s first investment since its US initial public offering in June, aims to strengthen its content pipeline in Japan, Chief Strategy Officer Yongsoo Kim said in an interview.
“We expect a huge growth in the US in the next couple years,” Kim said. “But in the near term, Japan will be our fastest growing market.”
The company, backed by South Korea-based Naver Corp., did not disclose the size of the investment.
“We believe that this will accelerate our efforts to increase the portion of locally produced content,” Kim said.
Webtoon’s Japanese app, Line Manga, topped the local app market by revenue in August and September, according to research intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
Sales of webcomics, which originated in South Korea and have a relatively brief history compared to Japanese manga, grew quickly during the pandemic and become a thriving source for TV drama adaptations. Recently, amid concerns over slowing growth, webcomics platform operators have been striving to boost paid user engagement.
The deal comes at a time of growing demand for IP that can be adapted into TV series, games and movies. Recently, Sony Group Corp. acquired a stake in publisher Kadokawa Corp. which has a large library of anime, manga, film and gaming content. In October, the Japanese entertainment conglomerate Toho Co. acquired US animation distributor GKIDS Inc.
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