Naver Financial to acquire Upbit owner Dunamu in $10.3 billion swap

Naver Financial will acquire Dunamu, parent of crypto exchange Upbit, in South Korea through an all-stock deal valued at about $10.3 billion. Under the share swap, Naver Financial will issue 2.54 new shares for each Dunamu share, with completion targeted by June 30, 2026.

A regulatory filing with the Financial Supervisory Service’s DART system details an exchange ratio of ~2.54 Naver Financial shares per Dunamu share. To complete the swap, Naver Financial plans to issue about 87.56 million new shares, valuing the transaction at roughly $10.28 billion.

Following the exchange, Naver Corp.’s stake in Naver Financial will fall to around 17% from about 69%. Dunamu Chairman Song Chi-hyung will technically hold the largest stake in Naver Financial after closing, but both he and the vice chair will delegate their voting rights, allowing Naver to maintain control of its fintech unit. 

The stock swap takes effect on June 30, 2026, subject to customary approvals. The companies expect to broaden operational and strategic cooperation after closing, while detailed changes to corporate structure remain under review.

Dunamu operates Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, as well as the Upbit NFT marketplace and the Securities Plus investment app. Upbit has frequently ranked among the top global trading platforms by volume.

For the third quarter, Dunamu reported revenue of about $263 million and net profit of about $163 million, driven mainly by trading commissions across its platforms. Naver, founded in 1999, posted third-quarter revenue of roughly $2.14 billion and operating profit of about $389 million as it expands from search into payments, cloud, artificial intelligence and digital content.

As GNcrypto covered previously, Upbit issued an investor alert warning that any solicitation promising “loss protection” or guaranteed returns is fraudulent. The exchange said scammers contact users via social media or messaging apps, pretending to be advisors or Upbit partners, and push external links or apps to manage assets.