Wallapop is one of the main cornerstones of the Spanish startup ecosystem. It is an icon in the field of second-hand buying and selling and has been a strong candidate for years to achieve the status of a unicorn startup (a valuation in excess of 1 billion dollars), yet it finds itself at the center of a controversial transaction. The South Korean internet giant Naver, a Wallapop shareholder since 2023 with nearly 22% of the shares, has put forward an offer to acquire 100% of the Spanish company for approximately 600 million euros (700 million dollars), a proposal that has created significant division among the principal partners and investors of the platform.
Naver’s offer, as confirmed by market sources to El País, has been met with strong criticism due to its low valuation. This amount represents a significant devaluation compared to Wallapop’s most recent valuation, which stood at 806 million euros (940 million dollars) in February 2024. Sources close to the negotiation reveal that major shareholders, such as the 14W fund (with nearly a 20% stake) and the company’s second-largest shareholder, have categorically rejected the offer. Meanwhile, other investors such as Insight Venture Partners and Accel, together representing 30% of the company, seem willing to sell, aiming for liquidity.
Despite the turbulence, Wallapop itself conveys a message of strength. Company sources have indicated that they are “very satisfied with the progress of the business and the plans for 2025,” and maintain the ambition to “build a unique inventory ecosystem throughout Europe.”
As mentioned previously and to simplify matters, Naver is somewhat akin to the “Korean Google.” It is a giant company with a pervasive impact on the daily lives of the 52 million inhabitants of South Korea.
Founded in 1999 (just a year after the launch of Google), Naver is a comprehensive web portal that offers much more than a search engine: an ecosystem of interconnected services that include news, blogs (Naver Blog), communities (Naver Cafe), maps (Naver Maps, which is far superior to Google Maps in Korea), online shopping, payment services (Naver Pay), and a popular question-and-answer service (Knowledge iN). Its success in Korea lies in having established itself as the primary digital reference for the Korean language and cultural preferences over the years, providing more relevant search results than its global competitors in the local market.
Naver.com homepage
However, in today’s global technological landscape, Naver’s relevance extends beyond its regional dominance. The company is actively positioning itself in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR), and the creation of immersive content. With AI tools like HyperClova X Think (its large language model) and its investments in AI enterprises, Naver is building an integrated technological infrastructure. Its global strategy is to expand into areas where the technological giants of the United States and China do not yet hold significant positions, offering specialized AI solutions and services.
Apart from the Wallapop case, Naver is also investing in and expanding into key markets such as North America (with platforms such as Poshmark and the upcoming launch of ThingsBook, a social network), Japan (through the popular messaging app Line and Webtoon), and the Middle East, where they are collaborating on data center projects and AI solutions.
In general, throughout its history, Naver has invested substantial sums of money in startups worldwide. For instance, it has invested in businesses such as the American company TwelveLabs, a startup specializing in AI for video that analyzes visual content for contextual search, object detection, and visual language comprehension.
Just a few months ago, Naver acquired the Korean company Yanolja F&B Solutions to enhance its services in the Korean restaurant market and explore opportunities in Japan, aiming for the digital transformation of the food service industry. Furthermore, its financial technology subsidiary, Naver Financial, is in advanced negotiations to acquire Asil, a Korean real estate data services platform based on big data. This acquisition aims to strengthen Naver’s role in the digital real estate sector.
Image: Wallapop
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