Kurly will issue 33 billion won of new shares to Naver to secure mid- to long-term growth drivers and further solidify the partnership between the two companies.

Kurly disclosed on Tuesday it decided on a 33 billion won rights offering. It plans to issue 498,882 common shares at 66,148 won per share. Naver will subscribe to all newly issued shares.

The issue price was decided by mutual agreement based on Kurly's latest investment round. Kurly's corporate value recognized through the share sale is about 2.8 trillion won. Naver's stake in Kurly will expand to 6.2 percent.

Kurly plans to use the funds raised to build a mid- to long-term growth foundation, including expanding logistics infrastructure and pursuing new businesses.

After signing a strategic partnership in April last year, the two companies opened the online grocery section KurlyN Mart on Naver Plus Store in September that year. Kurly's logistics unit Kurly Nextmile also handles dawn delivery for products sold on Naver Smartstore and brand stores.

Kurly CEO Seul-a Kim (김슬아) said, "With this investment as a starting point, the two companies plan to further strengthen their cooperative relationship as strategic partners and achieve practical synergy creation and a leap in growth."

Kurly posted sales of 2.37 trillion won and gross merchandise value of 3.53 trillion won last year, achieving its first annual operating profit of 13.1 billion won. With this fundraising, it has secured mid- to long-term growth drivers in addition to continuing profitability.