South Korean game developer Nexus Co. has agreed to acquire control of One Store Co., the operator of the country’s homegrown mobile application marketplace.
Nexus disclosed on Thursday that it will acquire an 89.03 percent stake in One Store for approximately 62.6 billion won ($40.74 million).
The company will secure management control of One Store by purchasing shares from SK square Co. (45.78 percent), Naver Corp. (24.06 percent), Steel Number One First Co. (17.02 percent), and Krafton Inc. (2.17 percent).
One Store operates an app marketplace where smartphone users can purchase and use a wide range of applications, serving a role similar to Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
One Store grew by emphasizing its identity as Korea’s local app store and even attempted an initial public offering (IPO) in 2022. However, after withdrawing its listing plans, business performance weakened and its corporate valuation fell dramatically from around 1 trillion won to only several tens of billions of won.
Last year, One Store recorded revenue of 113.3 billion won and an operating loss of 9.7 billion won.
In its regulatory filing on Thursday, Nexus said the acquisition was intended to “create synergies among core businesses through the acquisition of a controlling stake and secure future growth engines.”
Industry observers believe Nexus, which is focused on Web3 games based on blockchain technology, decided to acquire One Store as part of its efforts to expand its gaming platform business.
The company plans to leverage One Store’s existing business foundation, partnerships, and ecosystem to transform the platform from a simple app marketplace into a “game hub.”
Nexus also plans to integrate blockchain technology into One Store and develop it into the world’s first Web3 game store.
To achieve this, it plans to incorporate a full range of Web3 functions, including cryptocurrency wallets, stablecoins, and decentralized exchanges.
The acquisition is also expected to serve as a catalyst for a broader brand integration strategy.
Nexus plans to rename “CROSS,” the mainnet (blockchain network) of its on-chain gaming platform, to “ONE Chain,” while its native token “$CROSS” will be renamed “$ONE.”
The move is aimed at establishing an integrated brand identity linking One Store with the “$ONE” ecosystem.
Nexus also disclosed that it will raise approximately 39.5 billion won by issuing a total of 17,171,788 new shares through a third-party allotment capital increase to SK square, Naver, and Krafton—the selling parties of One Store.
Through the capital increase, SK square, Naver, and Krafton will participate in Nexus as strategic investors.
In addition, Nexus plans to raise a further 21.2 billion won through the issuance of unsecured private convertible bonds with interest coupons.
“In the face of a paradigm shift driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies, we will relentlessly push forward until we realize our vision of becoming the world’s leading gaming platform,” said Nexus Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chang Hyun-guk.
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pulse@mk.co.kr
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