South Korean tech firm Kakao will relocate Kakao IX Corp.’s character merchandising business to its e-commerce unit Kakao Commerce, according to industry sources on Wednesday.

Kakao IX, the current operator of character business, will finalize the restructuring during an upcoming board meeting early next month, the sources added.

The latest corporate reshuffle is likely to give a boost to Kakao’s growing e-commerce business unit.

Kakao Commerce last year marked 296.1 billion won ($248.1 million) in sales and 75.7 billion won in operating profit.

Kakao Commerce‘s earnings this year is also on an upward trend upon the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The e-commerce unit’s turnover in the first quarter increased by 55 percent on-year. The sales of KakaoTalk -- Kakao‘s major e-commerce platform -- also increased by 77 percent on-year accordingly.

Some expect Kakao Commerce might soon go for initial public offering after increasing its size by acquiring the character business. The company, however, said nothing has been decided yet.

Meanwhile, Kakao IX is expected to focus on real estate businesses after handing the character business over.

Kakao IX, which took over design company JOH in 2018, is currently responsible for 11.3 billion won project building Kakao’ training institute.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)