Kakao Entertainment to Merge 3 Story Content Subsidiaries

Kakao Entertainment has announced plans to merge three of its story content subsidiaries as part of efforts to strengthen its intellectual property business. The move is aimed at combining the companies' production capabilities and adapting web novels into webtoons.

The three subsidiaries, Samyang C&C, Intime, and Pilyeon Management, are all wholly owned by Kakao Entertainment. They specialize in webtoons and web novels, covering genres such as romance, fantasy, and martial arts. Their businesses include content development and production, discovering new creators, publishing, merchandise, and adaptations into live-action works and animation.

According to Kakao Entertainment, the merger will allow the company to develop and discover IP across multiple genres with the goal of building new major franchises and strengthening its global IP pipeline. The merged company will retain the Samyang C&C name, with CEO Sung-taek Cha leading the company.

The merger is set to be completed by the end of the year, following approval from the board meetings of the three companies on August 12.

## Merged Company Details

| Company | Retained Name | CEO | | --- | --- | --- |

| Samyang C&C | Samyang C&C | Sung-taek Cha |

The merged company will focus on combining the production capabilities of the three subsidiaries and strengthening their expertise in adapting web novels into webtoons. This move is expected to enhance Kakao Entertainment's intellectual property business and contribute to the growth of the webtoon and web novel market.

The company's goal is to develop and discover new IP across multiple genres, with the aim of building new major franchises and strengthening its global IP pipeline. This move is seen as a strategic step by Kakao Entertainment to expand its presence in the global market and increase its competitiveness in the intellectual property business.

The merger is expected to have a positive impact on the webtoon and web novel market, with the combined expertise and resources of the three subsidiaries contributing to the growth and development of the industry.