eBay Korea Preliminary Bidding, Participation by Lotte, Shinsegae, SKT, MBK, and Others

Most Leading Acquisition Candidates in Distribution and ICT Participate in 'First Round Success'
Strategic Alliances Begin Amid Major Shifts in the E-commerce Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] The preliminary bidding for the sale of eBay Korea saw participation from most of the leading acquisition candidates, marking a 'successful first round.'

According to industry sources on the 16th, major retail conglomerates such as Shinsegae Group (Emart) and Lotte Group (Lotte Shopping), large ICT companies like SK Telecom, and MBK Partners, a management participation private equity fund (PEF) and major shareholder of Homeplus, all took part in the preliminary bidding for the sale of eBay Korea. Most of the leading acquisition candidates who received the Information Memorandum (IM) participated in the preliminary bidding. However, Kakao, which was mentioned as a potential candidate, reportedly decided not to participate after much deliberation.

The background of this 'initial success' lies in Coupang's successful entry into the U.S. stock market. This played a significant role in raising the lukewarm temperature of the eBay Korea acquisition battle in its early stages. The initial indifferent response from potential acquisition candidates was influenced by concerns over the massive capital required for a trillion-won scale deal, fears of the 'winner's curse,' and eBay Korea's business structure, which is heavily focused on open markets. However, as Coupang, recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was recognized with a market valuation in the 100 trillion won range and announced aggressive investment-based competition, the industry, which requires a comparable 'scale,' began to feel a sense of crisis and became busy recalculating their strategies. With Coupang's aggressive moves already causing concern, the prospect of another competitor acquiring eBay Korea and growing larger was also a burden for each company. Consequently, the leading acquisition candidates declared their participation and officially entered the bidding war.

eBay Korea, which operates Gmarket, Auction, and G9, is estimated to have recorded sales of 1.3 trillion won and an operating profit of 85 billion won last year. Its online shopping transaction volume is at a level similar to Coupang's 20.9 trillion won, around 20 trillion won. Acquiring eBay Korea would instantly give a scale capable of challenging industry leaders like Naver Shopping (26.8 trillion won) and Coupang.

SK Telecom stated on the day, "We have communicated our intention to participate in the preliminary bidding to the sale's lead manager," adding, "We will review this from the perspective of strengthening competitiveness to provide better services to customers in the e-commerce sector." The plan is to enhance the competitiveness of its subsidiary 11st while building a strong platform linked with SK Telecom's ICT capabilities. 11st's transaction volume was about 10 trillion won last year, with a market share of around 6%. If SK Telecom acquires eBay Korea, the transaction volume would instantly rise to 30 trillion won based on last year's figures, surpassing Naver Shopping (27 trillion won) to become a top-tier player.

Shinsegae Group, led by Emart, previously selected an acquisition advisory firm and began reviewing the IM. Shinsegae is expected to undergo a corporate value adjustment verification process through due diligence. Shinsegae, which was preparing to enter the open market through its integrated online mall SSG.com, also focuses on the fact that acquiring eBay would rapidly increase its scale. Considering last year's SSG.com transaction volume (3.9 trillion won), the acquisition would boost it to around 24 trillion won. Lotte Group is also considering acquiring eBay Korea as a card to turn the tide, overcoming the stagnation of its integrated online mall Lotte On. If Lotte acquires eBay Korea, it would rapidly rise to a scale of 27.6 trillion won in transaction volume, surpassing Naver Shopping.

However, since this is still the preliminary bidding stage, variables remain. They plan to decide whether to complete the acquisition after due diligence. An industry insider said, "Even if the actual acquisition intention is not strong, companies participate in preliminary bidding to understand the status of competitors through detailed due diligence," adding, "Since the acquisition price is also at a burdensome level, most participating companies will have significant considerations before the final bidding."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.