[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Kakao is reportedly negotiating with generative AI startup Upstage to sell its portal site Daum. The discussions accelerated after Kakao spun off Daum in May, 11 years after acquiring it. Upstage, which is preparing for a public listing, appears to have chosen Daum to gain access to Daum Cafe data and boost its corporate value.
According to investment banking sources on the 21st, Kakao has reached a broad agreement with Upstage after several months of talks regarding the sale of Daum’s operating company, AXZ, with pricing still under negotiation. Kakao holds 100% of AXZ shares and plans to transfer management rights in exchange for Upstage equity.
AXZ manages Daum’s services, including news, search, shopping, Cafe, mail, and the blog service Tistory. Upstage is particularly interested in acquiring data from Cafe and mail services. Although Daum’s revenue has been declining, it recorded 332 billion KRW last year.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
