Provided by Netmarble

Netmarble announced on August 21 that Bang Jun-hyuk, Chairman of Netmarble and Coway, has agreed to acquire 13.4% of Netmarble's total shares out of the 18.1% stake held by Tencent affiliate Han River Investment for 374 billion won.

The transaction took place as Tencent disposed of a portion of its equity holdings, and was executed through a direct acquisition by largest shareholder Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk in order to preemptively mitigate potential market uncertainty that could arise if a large block of shares were released into the market.

Once the share acquisition is complete, Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk's stake in Netmarble will increase from 24.93% to 38.34%, further solidifying the corporate governance and foundation for responsible management as the founder and largest shareholder.

Regardless of the change in equity structure, the business partnership between Netmarble and Tencent will continue without disruption, with both companies planning to maintain cooperation across various fields including the global gaming business based on their established partnership.

A Netmarble official stated, "This equity acquisition is meaningful in that Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk personally raised 374 billion won in capital to clearly demonstrate his commitment to responsible management as founder and largest shareholder, while preemptively easing market uncertainty stemming from a major ownership change."