Naver’s Webtoon Entertainment targets up to $2.67 billion valuation in US IPO

(Reuters) – Online comics platform Webtoon Entertainment said on Monday it is targeting a valuation of up to $2.67 billion in its initial public offering in the United States.

The company, majority-owned by South Korean tech giant Naver, is aiming to raise as much as $315 million by offering 15 million shares at a price range of $18 to $21 each.

Los Angeles, California-based Webtoon joins a roster of companies looking to tap into improving investor appetite for stock market listings amid rising bets of a soft landing for the U.S. economy.

Certain fund and accounts managed by asset manager BlackRock have indicated interest in purchasing up to $50 million worth of shares sold in the IPO.

Webtoon Entertainment will list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “WBTN”.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Securities and Evercore Group are the lead underwriters for the offering.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)