Please wait...
Please wait...

Naver to acquire Wattpad for $600m

Naver, the South Korean internet conglomerate that owns digital comics platform Webtoon, is to acquire Canada-based digital storytelling platform Wattpad.

Aron Levitz

As part of the US$600m deal, Wattpad will be aligned with Webtoon with the aim of bringing more new, diverse voices to screens and bookstores around the world.

Wattpad was set up in 2006 as a platform for writers to publish literary works, and many of those stories have been picked up for TV and film.

The boss of its studio arm, Aron Levitz, told C21 last year it was eyeing local streaming companies to partner with, having already teamed up with global giants such as Netflix, Hulu and HBO for films and series based on its stories.

Last year Wattpad had around 50 TV and film projects in development with various studios and has been involved in popular young-adult dramas such as After by Aviron Pictures and Hulu’s Light as a Feather, while Netflix hit The Kissing Booth was an adaptation of a Wattpad story.

Wattpad said on its website: “The Wattpad you know will largely feel the same over the coming months. In time, we will find more ways to connect our combined audience of 160 million people around the world – people who obsess over their favourite stories and creators and who have found a home with Wattpad and Webtoon.”

RELATED ARTICLES

Please wait...