Business

South Korea’s Kakao to buy two U.S. storytelling apps for $950 million

Published

3 years ago

May 11, 2021

South Korea’s Kakao Entertainment Corp said on Tuesday it was acquiring U.S.-based online comic app Tapas and serialized fiction app Radish for $510 million and $440 million, respectively.

The purchase will make Kakao, the online comic, talent agency and movie-making unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp, the latest South Korean entertainment firm to expand in North America as Korean entertainment’s global reach widens.

“We are planning to engage the North American market in earnest through the intellectual property (IP) business” through the acquisitions, Kakao Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Jinsoo Lee told Reuters.

“Just 80 Kakao IPs are responsible for half of Tapas’ sales… Based on such growth data, we determined that Kakao Entertainment’s growth formula in Korea or Japan was also possible in America and other English-speaking regions.”

Kakao Entertainment has seen success with its online-based web cartoons or “webtoons” at home and in Japan, with Kakao-backed ‘Piccoma’ becoming one of Japan’s highest-grossing mobile apps outside games.

Kakao also owns serialized fiction IPs, movie production companies, actors’ talent agencies, K-pop artists’ labels plus performance and content companies, making it “unique” in its ability to convert a single IP into many channels and forms, Radish CEO and founder Seungyoon Lee told Reuters.

“It can literally take a web fiction into a webtoon then turn it into a TV drama and movie.”

Radish adds to this smartphone-optimised “bite-sized” fiction from teams of writers, including some who have won Emmy Awards for soap operas, with revenue that jumped tenfold in 2020. Tapas’ strength in “webtoons” led to five-fold jump in sales in 2020, Kakao said.

Radish previously received Series A funding from investors including SoftBank Group Corp’s venture arm and Kakao.

Earlier this year, K-pop sensation BTS’ agency HYBE announced the acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in a $1.05 billion deal.

South Korea’s tech giant Naver purchased Canada-based storytelling platform Wattpad for $600 million.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue and Rashmi Aich)

Business

Restaurant Brands reports US$357M Q3 net income, down from US$364M a year ago

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)

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Business

Electric and gas utility Fortis reports $420M Q3 profit, up from $394M a year ago

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.

The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.

Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.

Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)

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Business

Thomson Reuters reports Q3 profit down from year ago as revenue rises

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.

In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRI)

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