Affirma supports Korea's NPX in Terapin Studios deal
Affirma Capital has confirmed a USD 38m investment in Terapin Studios, a US-based media platform controlled by Korea’s NPX Capital focused on bringing Korean digital comics to global markets.
Affirma said the commitment is part of a USD 93m investment alongside NPX that supported Terapin's recent bolt-on of Toomics, a publisher of Korean manga-style comics called webtoons. Toomics, which Affirma calls one of the top-five webtoon players in Korea, was acquired for USD 160m in total.
"The global digital comics market is accelerating its growth backed by secular digitalization and Terapin is one of the leading contents providers and platforms in the space," Taeyub Kim, Affirma's head of Korea, said in a statement.
"Terapin is equipped with highly capable management, technological agility, proven operational capabilities, and a global expansion strategy. We believe that Affirma Capital's cross-regional footprint and strong network will fuel the company's exponential growth."
Toomics serves webtoon series in 10 languages globally including Korean, English, French, Spanish, German, and Chinese. It claims to have generated more than USD 50m in revenue and continued to record a stable profit in 2021. Ex-Korea revenue has almost quadrupled in the past three years to account for more than 70% in 2021.
The company claims to have doubled its subscriber base to 60m in the past two years and recorded an average annual growth rate of 42% since 2018. Its core properties include Black Knight, a science fiction webtoon that has been adapted by Netflix as a live-action mini-series.
NPX acquired created Terapin through the 100% acquisition of webtoons studio Copin Communications for USD 56m across two transactions last year. This business became the foundation of Terapin, with Copin continuing to exist as a subsidiary.
There is a strong emphasis on technology in Terapin's strategy. The production process is automated by internally developed artificial intelligence that is said to allow Copin to create around 100 webtoon series a year with minimal dependency on a few creators. There are plans to develop virtual reality, augmented reality, and metaverse content as well.
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