Netmarble plans to buy a total of 150 billion won worth of shares in affiliate Coway on the open market over the next year, it said on Sunday.

After market close on Sunday, Netmarble said in a filing it would notify the market of the total size and direction of its purchases over the year. It said it would first buy about 40 billion won worth of shares in about a month. The share acquisition is scheduled to run for about a month from May 7 to June 5.

Netmarble currently holds a 26 percent stake in Coway. If the 150 billion won of purchases are completed, the stake will rise to the high 20 percent range.

The stake increase will have the effect of stabilising its governance structure and improving financial soundness. As the stake rises, equity-method valuation gains will increase and dividend income proportional to its holdings is expected to rise.

Over the past three years, Netmarble has secured 109.8 billion won in dividend income from Coway and 300 billion won in equity-method profit. As the stake increases, future dividends and equity-method valuation gains are expected to expand.

A Netmarble official said the share purchase was an investment that can achieve two goals: stabilising governance and improving financial soundness. The official said it would use part of the funds from the company’s ongoing liquidity measures for investment assets and would have no impact on its core games business.