Naver's takeover of Upbit operator Dunamu slips to December 31

Naver Financial’s acquisition of Dunamu has been postponed again, this time to December 31.

This is the second delay that the deal is facing. The reason for the stall this time is an unfinished antitrust review.

Will Naver Financial still acquire Dunamu? 

Naver disclosed that the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting that was called to approve the comprehensive stock swap has been moved from August 18 to November 19. The swap itself, once scheduled for September 30, will not happen before year-end.

This is the second delay in the process, and it’s due to a drawn-out review by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC). The deal was first announced on November 26, 2025, as reported by Cryptopolitan at the time, and was delayed for the first time on March 30. 

It is only after the stock swap that Dunamu will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Naver Financial, the fintech arm of the internet company Naver (KRX: 035420). Naver Financial said in November that the acquisition aims to build a growth engine around digital assets. 

The financial terms of the deal, on the other hand, have not moved. The exchange ratio agreed last November was 2.5422618 Naver Financial shares for each Dunamu share, and the per-share valuations of 439,252 won ($309) for Dunamu and 172,780 won ($121) for Naver Financial. 

Meanwhile, the window for existing shareholders to object was reset to November 4-18, and the payment date for stock-purchase claims moved to December 16.

Why are regulators delaying approval?

Three separate approvals still stand between the companies and the completion of their deal. The FTC must clear the combination under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. 

Regulators must approve the change in Naver Financial’s largest shareholder under the Credit Information Act, and then they must accept the filing on Dunamu’s major shareholder change under the Specific Financial Transaction Information Act.

Cryptopolitan reported in April that South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service ordered Dunamu to correct its March 30 disclosure, saying the report contained “important omissions or false statements.” 

Dunamu has already warned investors that the swap could be delayed or canceled depending on how long the process takes.

Meanwhile, the company is under strain. Cryptopolitan reported in May that Dunamu’s operating profit fell 78% year-on-year to 88 billion won ($60 million) in the first quarter of 2026 as trading volumes on Upbit dropped. 

Roughly 97% of Dunamu’s revenue comes from transaction fees. Korean regulators are also preparing a 22% crypto-gains tax that takes effect in January 2027, a further threat to the retail trading Upbit depends on.

Combining Naver’s payments reach with Upbit has also raised some concerns as it could give a single company an outsized grip on crypto trading and the wider digital-asset market in Korea.

Naver Financial recently stated that it intends to list on the securities market after the swap and plans to form an IPO committee within a year of closing the deal. 

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