The future of ZEPETO, a global metaverse platform nurtured by Naver, is attracting industry attention. ZEPETO is currently operated by Naver’s subsidiary, Naver Z, which boasts around 30 million global users. Recently, Japan’s SoftBank acquired shares in Naver Z, potentially altering its ownership structure depending on the outcome of negotiations over the sale of shares in A Holdings, the parent company of LY Corp.
According to Korea’s electronic disclosure system, DART (Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System), Naver’s stake in Naver Z decreased from 78.86% to 49.9% last month (including shares held by its subsidiaries, SNOW and Naver Webtoon). Naver holds 90% and 66.6% stakes in SNOW and Naver Webtoon, respectively.
ZEPETO, launched by Naver in 2018, has grown into a global service. To expand its metaverse business, Naver spun off ZEPETO from SNOW into an independent entity in 2020. Initially, SNOW owned 100% of Naver Z. However, in late 2021, SoftBank’s venture capital arm, SoftBank Vision Fund, along with Mirae Asset Securities, HYBE, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment, invested 220 billion KRW, altering Naver Z’s ownership structure.
In March this year, SNOW, facing declining performance, sold 30,000 shares of Naver Z to Z Intermediate Global and LINE Plus, affiliates of LY Corp. Consequently, SNOW’s stake in Naver Z dropped from 69.44% to 46.83%. Naver Webtoon holds a 3.07% stake in Naver Z.
The outcome of the negotiations over the sale of A Holdings’ shares could change Naver Z’s shareholder composition and ownership ratios. If SoftBank acquires just one share of A Holdings, its friendly stake, including those of SoftBank Vision Fund (15.13%), SVA ZEPETO Metaverse (2.45%), LINE Plus (1.82%), and Z Intermediate Global (18.78%), would approach 40%. Additionally, major shareholders like HYBE and JYP Entertainment might sell their shares to SoftBank.
Professor Yoo Byung-joon of Seoul National University commented, “SoftBank’s current stake is not sufficient to affect Naver’s control over ZEPETO, but there’s a need to monitor future developments.” Professor Hwang Yong-sik of Sejong University noted, “While Naver sold shares to SoftBank to expand its business in Japan, decoupling issues between the two companies are causing complications.”
According to Data.ai, ZEPETO’s monthly active users (MAU) in Korea reached about 1.52 million last month, up from approximately 1.1 million the previous year. While most domestic metaverse services struggle, ZEPETO continues to perform well, with 95% of its users located outside Korea, serving in more than 200 countries and estimated to have around 30 million global MAU last month.
