Story
Naver Stock Surges on $1 Billion Nvidia Investment for AI Expansion
Summary
Shares of the South Korean internet company jumped nearly 9% after it announced a major strategic partnership with Nvidia, which includes a $1 billion equity investment to help fund a $10 billion AI data center initiative.
Shares of Naver Corp. (KRX: 035420) surged 8.9% on Monday after the South Korean internet giant announced a strategic partnership with Nvidia that includes a $1 billion equity investment from the U.S. chipmaker to massively expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Strategic AI Partnership
According to a regulatory filing, Nvidia will acquire approximately 7.24 million newly issued Naver common shares at a price of 204,500 won each. The $1 billion investment will give Nvidia a 4.5% stake, making it one of Naver's three largest shareholders.
The deal represents the equity component of a broader $10 billion global AI factory initiative. While Nvidia is providing the strategic capital, asset manager Brookfield has been named the exclusive preferred negotiator to arrange up to $9 billion in additional financing. This capital is earmarked for procuring GPU infrastructure and data center capacity, enabling Naver to more than triple the scale of its current AI facilities.
AdShareholder Measures and Market Context
To address potential shareholder dilution from the new share issuance, Naver also announced it would cancel approximately 4.9 million of its own treasury shares in August, a move valued at roughly 1 trillion won. The company stated this shareholder-friendly measure attracted significant buying interest from institutional investors.
The transaction was announced against a constructive market backdrop. South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index gained 1.7% on Monday, while U.S. markets also traded higher ahead of a key Federal Reserve policy decision. The investment agreement was signed by Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the San Francisco AI Summit on July 24, underscoring growing AI cooperation between the two countries.
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