South Korean Naver Purchases Poshmark for $1.2 Billion

Naver, South Korea's top search engine, draws all eyes with its billion-dollar deal. Announcing that it has purchased Poshmark, the second-hand clothing market in the USA, for 1.2 billion dollars, Naver prefers to pay in cash as a payment method. However, this brings with it many question marks.

After Poshmark's public offering, South Korean e-commerce giant Naver, which decided to buy all the outstanding shares of the company, will pay $ 17.90 in cash for each Poshmark share. Thus, Naver gets Poshmark for $ 1.2 billion. The system is seen as a very bold step to enter the US e-commerce market.

On the other hand, investors seem very worried about this huge deal. Investors are questioning the timing of the company's major acquisition amid the slowdown, according to investors. According to many of the company's investors, this is bad timing. At the same time, the fact that Poshmark reported a loss of $ 44.4 million in 2021 with an unpredictable performance causes investors to worry.

Following the acquisition, Poshmark is planned as an independent subsidiary of Naver to be managed by Poshmark's CEO Manish Chandra and his current management team. On the subject, Naver states that it will continue to work under its current brand. It also says it will maintain its staff, user base, and headquarters in Redwood City, California.

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Both Naver and Poshmark Satisfied With The Purchase

In a press release on the subject, Naver and Poshmark point out that the agreement is meaningful for both parties. With the acquisition of Poshmark by Naver, Poshmark's growing social shopping platform; It aims to combine “technical prowess” and existing communities such as the online forum Naver Café. In this way, he plans to reach a much larger audience.

Poshmark, on the other hand, leverages Naver's image recognition and search technologies. Naver's shopping platform offers new discovery and recommendation experiences that allow users to search for colors, designs, and materials to find clothing and even identify where to find products.

Apart from that, Naver says it will help Poshmark better analyze sales statistics to serve international customers. Moreover, it promotes robust ad serving and payment infrastructure. While it's seen as a long-term plan for now, with Naver's support, it has the opportunity to expand into additional advanced markets in Asia and elsewhere. In turn, Poshmark says it will help build a strong US foothold for Naver.