News
SBI Investment Portfolio Company LOCUS, Producer of ‘Yumi’s Cells,’ Seeks to Become the First K-Content Company to List Through the Technology-Based Special Listing Track
- LOCUS, an SBI Investment portfolio company specializing in feature-length animation, is seeking a KOSDAQ listing through the technology-based special listing track now that the Korea Exchange has extended its qualitative review criteria for such listings to the K-content sector. Following its 2023 investment, SBI Investment invested KRW 2 billion in this pre-IPO round. LOCUS has raised a total of KRW 8.5 billion so far and plans to close the round at KRW 10–15 billion through additional fundraising.
- Founded in 2009 by director Hong Sung-ho and acquired by Naver Webtoon in 2021, LOCUS has produced works such as ‘Red Shoes,’ ‘The Exorcist's Chronicles’ and ‘Yumi's Cells.’ ‘Yumi's Cells: The Movie’ received the Presidential Award in the animation category of the 2024 Korea Content Awards, and the company recorded revenue of KRW 21.9 billion and operating profit of KRW 1.3 billion last year.
- With the release of ‘Electronic Arcade Guardians,’ a film based on a Naver Webtoon, coming up this month, LOCUS is expected to set the first precedent for a K-content company listing on the strength of its capabilities as one of Korea's leading producers of animation IP.
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