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SOUTH KOREA — August 24, 2023
Korea Credit Data (“KCD”), the operator of the super-app “Cashnote” for SMBs (small-to-medium businesses), announced that it has secured an investment of KRW 100 billion (approximately USD 77 million) from investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value (“MSTV”), a private credit and equity investor based in New York.
KCD’s post-money valuation now stands at USD 1 billion (approximately KRW 1.3 trillion), marking a notable ascent from its previous valuation of KRW 1.1 trillion secured during its October 2022 fundraising round. The latest round brings KCD’s total capital raised to over KRW 260 billion.
Cashnote, KCD’s flagship service, has rapidly evolved into a comprehensive super-app for SMBs. It has expanded its offerings beyond dashboard into SMB finance, B2B marketplace, government policy information, and merchant community. In addition, the KCD ecosystem offers essential merchant infrastructures such as POS and VAN via its subsidiaries IMU and KPN.
KCD is the operator of leading SMB-enabling ecosystem in Korea. Its services offered by the broader ecosystem has approximately two million users across the nation, a meaningful increment of 300K users since its previous October 2022 fundraising round. As the only player of this scale in merchant solutions space, KCD has rapidly grown to record H1 2023 revenue which has quadrupled compared to that of H1 2022, exceeding 2022 annual revenue of approximately KRW 65 billion.
Dong-ho Kim, the CEO of KCD, remarked “This investment underscores the recognition of KCD’s merchant centric business model by a reputable global investor.” He emphasized “Combining the experience and resources of a global investor and KCD’s data pool, we plan to further develop and offer advanced solutions to enable seamless and efficient SMB merchants’ daily operations and cash flow management.”
Jim Kim, Vice President at Morgan Stanley and investment professional of MSTV, said “KCD is a business that has drawn great interest from the investment community. Its role serving the Korean SMB market and the wider economy has been recognized as pivotal, and it presents both a strong investment opportunity and the ability for MSTV to play a positive role in the ongoing enablement of Korean SMBs. We look forward to partnering with the team as they strive to realize the significant opportunity that lies ahead.”
Based in New York, MSTV is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s private investing platform and invests in a diverse range of global assets through its ability to navigate changing market dynamics. MSTV’s investment in KCD marks its foray into the burgeoning Korean private capital market, which is rapidly evolving into a key market in Asia.
About Korea Credit Data
Founded in 2016, Korea Credit Data stands as a prominent SMB-enabling platform in Korea, catering to a substantial base of two million small and medium-sized merchant users via its comprehensive merchant-enabling ecosystem. It offers a diverse array of solutions including store management, facilitation of financial services, B2B marketplace, payment enablement, merchant credit ratings and robust data analytics, among others. Its flagship product, ‘Cashnote’ is a super-app that provides dashboard, financial services, marketplace and serves as the community platform for Korean merchants. For more information, please visit www.kcd.co.kr.
About Morgan Stanley Tactical Value
Morgan Stanley Tactical Value is the flexible, non-control private equity and credit investment platform within Morgan Stanley Investment Management. With a broad mandate to invest across asset classes, sectors and geographies, Morgan Stanley Tactical Value is able to tailor bespoke solutions for companies to meet their unique strategic and financial objectives. The team's expertise, including deep structuring experience, is complemented by Morgan Stanley's extensive network and global capabilities to drive differentiated capital solutions for companies, founders, sponsors, and stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.morganstanley.com/im/tacticalvalue.
