CJ O Shopping Media Commerce Subsidiary Secures 21 Billion KRW Investment from Mirae Asset Management

Mirae Asset Management's Active Management Private Equity Fund Acquires 910,000 New Shares of Dada M&C
Transaction Volume Grew 2.2 Times Last Year... Expanding New Growth Model Through External Investment Attraction
"Content Differentiation and New Brand Discovery to Surpass 100 Billion KRW in Transaction Volume in 2023"

Dada M&C, a media commerce subsidiary established by CJ O Shopping, secured an investment of 21 billion KRW through a new share subscription agreement with Mirae Asset Global Investments. (From left) Seungwoo Ahn, Head of PEF Division 1 at Mirae Asset Global Investments; Minho Heo, Head of Commerce Division at CJ ENM; Seungwon Seo, CEO of Dada M&C.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] DADA M&C, a media commerce subsidiary established by CJ O Shopping, has attracted an investment of 21 billion KRW from Mirae Asset Global Investments. Leveraging this external investment, DADA M&C plans to increase its transaction volume to 100 billion KRW by 2023 and pursue a public listing in the future.

CJ ENM, which operates CJ O Shopping, announced that on the 9th, Heo Min-ho, head of the commerce division at CJ ENM, Seo Seung-won, CEO of DADA M&C, and Ahn Sung-woo, head of the PEF1 division at Mirae Asset Global Investments, signed a new share subscription agreement for DADA M&C at the Four Seasons Hotel in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. The agreement involves a management participation private equity fund (PEF) managed by Mirae Asset Global Investments acquiring 910,000 new shares issued by DADA M&C, with an investment amount of 21 billion KRW. CJ ENM's commerce division will exercise management rights as the largest shareholder, while the PEF will become the second-largest shareholder through the new share acquisition.

DADA M&C is a media commerce specialist company that started in 2017 within CJ O Shopping's new business development team. Among major domestic retailers, CJ is the first to establish a media commerce business as a separate legal entity. Media commerce refers to a form of online commerce that produces video content for product marketing and exposes it on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube to induce purchases. It is characterized by maximizing marketing effects by attracting the interest of the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), who consume a lot of mobile content, based on trendy product sourcing and content marketing capabilities. DADA M&C stated, "We have secured various proprietary channels domestically and internationally based on our digital content production capabilities," adding, "We have been operating a digital advertising business based on this." Last year, thanks to the growth in product sales, transaction volume increased by 2.2 times compared to the previous year. With the expansion of the digital-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) model, future growth potential is also expected to be high.

In December of last year, DADA M&C was established as a separate corporation for media commerce. This was to enhance operational efficiency in line with trend changes through startup-style management that allows for quick decision-making. Currently, DADA M&C operates its own channels on various social media platforms. Separately, it also operates the product sales platform 'DADAPICK,' the scalp care device brand site 'PILIZER,' and the 'Triple Black' site for selling its own private brand (PB) of small home appliances.

The company views this external investment not only as a means of securing funds but also as an opportunity to gain investment experience from Mirae Asset Group. DADA M&C said, "This growth model of establishing promising businesses as independent corporations to attract investment is actively occurring both domestically and internationally," adding, "We aim to enhance corporate value and achieve a public listing through Mirae Asset Group's portfolio, human network, and value creation experience." The funds secured through the investment will be used to strengthen the competitiveness of the commerce platform 'DADAPICK' operated by DADA M&C through IT investment, content production, and to accelerate growth by discovering new promising brands.

DADA M&C plans to grow into a company that professionally discovers and distributes promising brands suitable for the MZ generation based on a high understanding of digital content and data and video content production capabilities. Seo Seung-won, CEO of DADA M&C, said, "The growth potential of the media commerce business will increase even more in the next 3 to 4 years when Generation Z becomes the main consumer group," adding, "We will develop DADA M&C into a 'digital brand accelerator' that enhances brand image and activates product sales through mobile channels."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.