South Korean internet giant Naver Corp has agreed to acquire the popular online fashion marketplace Poshmark in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. Poshmark is a popular secondhand retailer and the largest fashion consumer-to- consumer platform in North America.
In a conference call on Tuesday, Naver executives said that the Poshmark has 80 million registered users, which is popular among Millennial and Gen Z active users. Investors are skeptical about the timing of its biggest acquisition in the wake of the global economic slowdown.
As part of the acquisition agreement, Naver, which is South Korea's top search engine, will pay $17.90 cash for each Poshmark share and acquire all of its outstanding stock as it expands its footprint into the U.S. e-commerce market.
After the deal is done, Naver will combine Poshmark's shopping platform with its technology, which may start with live-streaming, a key driver of e-commerce in South Korea, followed by technologies such as image recognition and artificial intelligence, the two companies said in a statement.
We covered Poshmark about five years ago when the once online fashion startup Poshmark raised $87.5 million from Temasek Holdings, a state-owned holding company that is owned by the Government of Singapore.
Poshmark was founded in 2011 and is the largest social marketplace for fashion where anyone can buy, sell and share their style with others. Poshmark's mission is to make shopping simple and fun by connecting people around a shared love of fashion while empowering entrepreneurs to become the next generation of retailers.
Poshmark's community of more than two million Seller Stylists helps shoppers find the perfect look from over 25 million items and 5,000 brands, recognized as the go-to shopping destination for millennials.