Kakao AI prelisting review requires more time
Extraordinary shareholder meeting pushed from Dec. 17 to Jan. 15
Kakao X-Kakao AI split ratio revised to 0.611 vs. 0.388
Kakao has pushed back its planned spinoff to Feb. 1 next year, citing the need for additional time to complete the preliminary listing review for its newly created subsidiary Kakao AI. The company also plans to allocate an additional 263.6 billion won ($197 million) in cash to Kakao AI, expanding the unit's net assets to 3.2 trillion won.
Kakao filed an amended spinoff plan Thursday reflecting the revised schedule and updated asset allocation for the separation into Kakao X and Kakao AI.
The spinoff date has been moved from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1 next year. The extraordinary shareholder meeting to approve the split has been pushed back from Dec. 17 to Jan. 15. The expected listing dates — Kakao X's transfer listing and Kakao AI's relisting — have also been adjusted from Jan. 27 to Feb. 25.
Kakao said the preliminary review for Kakao AI's relisting was expected to take longer than originally anticipated, prompting the roughly one-month delay across all related milestones.
The capital allocation structure following the split will also be revised. Kakao will assign an additional 263.6 billion won in cash to Kakao AI, raising the unit's net assets from approximately 2.9 trillion won to approximately 3.2 trillion won. The additional cash is earmarked for acquiring assets linked to Kakao AI's operations.
In addition, Kakao decided Thursday to buy back and cancel 150 billion won worth of its own shares. The move brings forward half of the 300 billion won share buyback and cancellation that had originally been planned for Kakao X to carry out after the split. The remaining 150 billion won in buybacks will be executed by Kakao X sometime next year, after the separation is complete.
Once the asset reallocation and share cancellation are factored in, the split ratio between Kakao X and Kakao AI will change from approximately 0.635 to 0.365 to approximately 0.611 to 0.388.
Earlier, in August, Kakao announced a governance restructuring plan to spin off its KakaoTalk-based platform business into a new entity called Kakao AI, while renaming the existing legal entity Kakao X. Kakao AI will oversee AI, advertising and commerce operations centered on KakaoTalk, while Kakao X will manage major affiliates and handle investment activities in areas including content, mobility and tech finance.
chami@heraldcorp.com
