WEBTOON Entertainment Announces Public Filing of Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (“WEBTOON” or “the Company”), a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world’s largest storytelling platforms, today announced that it publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on Friday, May 31, 2024, relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. WEBTOON applied to list its common stock on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “WBTN.” The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley are acting as lead bookrunning managers for the proposed offering. J.P. Morgan and Evercore ISI are acting as active bookrunning managers for the proposed offering. Deutsche Bank Securities, UBS Investment Bank and HSBC are acting as joint bookrunning managers. Raymond James and LionTree are acting as co-managers.

The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus relating to the proposed offering, when available, may be obtained by visiting EDGAR on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or from any of the following sources:

• Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, by telephone at 1-866-471-2526 or by email at prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com
• Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014 or by email at prospectus@morganstanley.com
• J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by email at prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com and postsalemanualrequests@broadridge.com
• Evercore Group L.L.C., Attn: Equity Capital Markets, 55 East 52nd Street, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10055, by telephone at (888) 474-0200, or by email at ecm.prospectus@evercore.com

A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Any offers, solicitations or offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The offering is subject to market and other conditions and the completion of the SEC’s review process.

About WEBTOON Entertainment

WEBTOON Entertainment is a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world's largest storytelling platforms. As the global leader and pioneer of the mobile web-comic format, WEBTOON Entertainment has transformed comics and visual storytelling for fans and creators.

With its CANVAS UGC platform empowering anyone to become a creator, and a growing roster of superstar WEBTOON Originals creators and series, WEBTOON Entertainment’s passionate fandoms are the new face of pop culture. WEBTOON adaptations are available on Netflix, Prime Video, Crunchyroll, and other screens around the world, and the company’s content partners include Discord, HYBE and DC Comics, among many others.

With approximately 170 million monthly active users (as of the quarter ended March 31, 2024), WEBTOON Entertainment’s IP & Creator Ecosystem of aligned companies include WEBTOON, Wattpad--the world’s leading web-novel platform--Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, Studio N, Studio LICO, WEBTOON Unscrolled, LINE MANGA, and eBookJapan, among others.

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