Shinsegae, "No Discussions on Joint Acquisition of eBay Korea with Naver"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Shinsegae Group denied media reports that Shinsegae Group and Naver formed a consortium to jointly acquire eBay Korea.

On the 20th, a Shinsegae official stated, "There have been no specific discussions or finalized matters with Naver regarding the acquisition of eBay Korea."

The day before, the investment banking (IB) industry speculated that Shinsegae would participate in the main bid for eBay Korea as the largest shareholder, with Naver as the second-largest shareholder forming a consortium.

A Shinsegae official said, "Since signing a share swap contract worth 150 billion KRW with Naver last March, the two companies have been reviewing broad and diverse cooperation plans," adding, "(The joint acquisition of eBay Korea) was only mentioned as one of several scenarios and is not currently in progress."

So far, besides Shinsegae, Lotte Shopping, MBK Partners, and SK Telecom have also shown interest in acquiring eBay Korea.

The main bid for acquiring eBay Korea, originally expected in mid-this month, has been postponed to next month. Inside and outside the industry, there is an evaluation that the price gap between the seller and the acquisition candidates is too large regarding eBay Korea, whose acquisition price has soared up to 50 trillion KRW.

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