Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Korean firm Kim & Chang have advised Kakao, operator of Korea's leading messaging app KakaoTalk, on its $1 billion global depository receipts offering. Paul Hastings, Korean firm Bae, Kim & Lee, and Singaporean firm Shook Lin & Bok represented the underwriters Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

The GDRs will be listed on the Singapore Exchange, while the underlying common shares will be listed on the Korea Exchange.

Kakao said it was seeking merger and acquisition opportunities of global contents platform providers, as well as key technologies in artificial intelligence and other areas.

The company has expanded its business beyond South Korea’s dominant messaging app Kakao Talk to co-developing artificial intelligence technology with companies such as Hyundai Motor, as well as taxi and ride hailing, e-books and other services, reported Reuters.

The Paul Hastings team was led by its Korea capital markets practice head Kim Dong-chul.