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KakaoTalk targeting $2 billion IPO

February 21, 2014
kakao.com

kakao.com

KakaoTalk, the dominantly popular messaging and social platform in South Korea, is planning to hold an initial public offering (IPO) there in May 2015.

The developer, Kakao Corp., is in talks to sign with Morgan Stanley and Samsung Securities Co. to file for an IPO priced at $2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

If the negotiations go accordingly, Kakao would be Korea’s largest IPO since Samsung Life Insurance’s $4.6 billion in May 2010.

The messenger app, which is omnipresent in Korea, has expanded its services in recent years to make itself the country’s preferred social networking tool, from its success as a game-launching platform with hits like “Anipang” to its fledgling music service.