Kakao and Daum are merging to become KOSDAQ’s second largest company

Kakao, the Korea-based company behind the Kakao Talk mobile messaging app, is merging with Daum, the country’s second largest internet portal. The news is surprising, since Kakao had been tipped to go public before 2015 at a valuation of over $2 billion. The Yonhap News Agency reports that the merger will create a company worth three trillion Korean won ($2.9 billion) but there is no confirmed price at this point. The new entity will become the second largest company listed on the KOSDAQ, according to the news agency.