This article was published on July 14, 2026, at 14:42 on Signal, a capital markets compass service.
Tving, a Korean over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, has issued a cumulative 86.5 billion won in electronic short-term bonds within about three months of entering the market. Analysts say the company is actively using short-term borrowing that does not affect its ownership structure ahead of a merger with Wavve, amid continued demand for content investment and cash.
According to SEIBro, the securities information portal of the Korea Securities Depository, Tving issued a total of 86.5 billion won in electronic short-term bonds from April this year through the 13th of this month. The number of issuances reached 24. Electronic short-term bonds are short-term securities with maturities of less than one year, mainly used by companies to quickly secure working capital and other funds.
Tving entered the market on April 3 this year with its first issuance of 11 billion won in electronic short-term bonds. It subsequently issued a series of short-maturity bonds to secure operating funds and content production costs. Some of the recent issuances are timed to coincide with the maturity of existing bonds, suggesting they were intended not only for new fundraising but also for refinancing.
The company's financial structure is cited as the reason behind the rapid increase in issuance volume over a short period. Tving's cash and cash equivalents stood at 14.3 billion won at the end of last year, down about 78.6% from the previous year. Current assets were 123.8 billion won and current liabilities were 271.8 billion won, putting the simple current ratio at about 45.5%. Cash outflows have also emerged. Free cash flow (FCF) last year came in at -70.7 billion won. As it must continue large-scale investment to maintain content competitiveness, the company appears to have turned to electronic short-term bonds to bolster its liquidity.
Since its physical split in 2020, Tving has secured operating funds through paid-in capital increases targeting CJ ENM, strategic investors (SI), and financial investors (FI). The amount raised through rights offerings from 2020 to 2022 alone is known to have reached 510.1 billion won.
Market observers note that as merger talks with Wavve drag on, Tving is broadening its financing channels through methods that do not entail changes in ownership ratios, such as borrowing and issuing electronic short-term bonds. In addition, as Tving's bond issuances continue to recur, attention is turning to whether they will lead to further refinancing or long-term fundraising. Short-term bonds offer the advantage of quickly securing funds, but there are considerable concerns that their short maturities could create a continuous refinancing burden.
An official in the investment banking (IB) industry explained, "Because merger talks are still ongoing, altering the ownership structure in the middle would be burdensome. In the case of direct financing, it could lead to long-term fundraising, and if conditions improve, it could be repaid."
