The Nexon acquisition is the largest ever in the South Korean startup scene

Nexon, Korea’s game giant, has acquired Korbit, one of the three major cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea. On September 26, NXC, Nexon’s holding company, announced its purchase of 125,000 Korbit shares at KRW91.25 billion (approximately US$80 million). Upon the  transaction, NXC will hold 65.19 per cent of Korbit’s outstanding shares.

This M&A deal marks a record high for a startup acquisition. Prior to this was Kakao’s acquisition of Locnall Inc. at KRW62.6 billion (approximately US$54.6 million).

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Korbit was founded in 2013 by current CEO Yeongseok Yoo and Korea Blockchain Association’s co-representative Jinhwa Kim. It operates a cryptocurrency exchange also called Korbit. As the world’s  first Korean Won cryptocurrency Exchange, Korbit provides diverse services including electronic wallet and electronic payment.

NXC added  that the acquisition was for diversification, and that there is no specific plan regarding Nexon’s cryptocurrency business as for now.

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The article Nexon Acquires Cryptocurrency Exchange Korbit at $80M first appeared on Tech For Korea.

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