Poshmark Inc., a Redwood City, CA-based social e-commerce marketplace, is being acquired by Naver Corp., Korea’s largest internet company, in a $1.2 billion deal.
Manish Chandra, founder and CEO of Poshmark, said, “The opportunity to join forces with Naver – one of the world’s leading and most innovative and successful internet companies – is a testament to the strength of our brand, operating model, and what we’ve built over the last decade with our talented team and amazing community. Our industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and we are excited to continue to lead the future of shopping by providing our community with an unparalleled experience that is simple, social, fun and sustainable.”
Choi Soo-Yeon, CEO of Naver, said, “The combination will create the strongest platform for powering communities and re-fashioning commerce. Poshmark is the definitive brand for fashion in the United States that provides a social network for buying and selling apparel. Naver’s leading technology in search, AI recommendation and e-commerce tools will help power the next phase of Poshmark’s global growth.”
Upon completion of the transaction, Poshmark will become a standalone U.S. subsidiary of Naver and will continue to be led by Chandra and Poshmark’s current management team.
Poshmark will continue to operate under its existing brand, as well as maintain its employee base, Poshmark community and headquarters in Redwood City.
The transaction, which was unanimously approved by both Naver’s and Poshmark’s boards of directors, is expected to close by the first quarter of 2023, subject to approval by Poshmark stockholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. The transaction is not contingent on any financing.
Naver will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Poshmark for $17.90 in cash each. That represents a premium of 15% to Poshmark’s closing stock price as of Oct. 3, 2022, a 34% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price, and a 48% premium to the 90-day volume weighted average price of Poshmark’s shares.