Yanolja Acquiring Interpark... Under Fair Trade Commission Review

Yanolja Files Interpark Merger Notification with Fair Trade Commission
Raised 2 Trillion Won 'Ammunition' from Masayoshi Son's Vision Fund Last Year
New York IPO Plans Also at Risk if Merger Faces Obstacles

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] Accommodation application (app) Yanolja is set to undergo a corporate merger review by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). This is to acquire Interpark, a first-generation domestic e-commerce company. Analysts suggest that if the KFTC blocks the merger due to concerns over monopoly, it could also impact Yanolja's plans for an initial public offering (IPO).

The KFTC announced that Yanolja reported a corporate merger to acquire 70% of Interpark's shares on the 24th of last month. The KFTC’s review period for corporate mergers is 30 days from the date of notification. However, the review period can be extended up to 90 days at the KFTC’s discretion.

Earlier, Yanolja finalized a plan at the end of last year to acquire 70% of Interpark’s shares for 294 billion KRW. Since Interpark is the leading company in the domestic performance ticketing market, absorbing it is expected to create synergy with Yanolja’s accommodation and travel platform. The announcement of Interpark’s acquisition drew industry attention as Yanolja secured approximately 2 trillion KRW in funding from the Vision Fund led by SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son last year.

The KFTC views that Yanolja’s acquisition of Interpark would result in various forms of corporate mergers, including horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate mergers. Since Yanolja operates an online travel reservation platform and Interpark conducts e-commerce businesses in travel, performance, and shopping sectors, the merger could affect multiple markets.

Bae Bo-chan, CEO of Yanolja, appeared at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of the Fair Trade Commission held on October 5 last year, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Specifically, the merger between Yanolja and Interpark corresponds to a horizontal merger between the merging companies competing in the travel reservation platform market. Considering that Yanolja could use Interpark to provide solutions that assist or replace the work of accommodation operators using the accommodation app, it also qualifies as a vertical merger between the accommodation reservation platform market and the cloud-based solution market. Additionally, if Yanolja links Interpark’s performance business to offer various travel services, it constitutes a conglomerate merger between the travel reservation platform and the performance business.

The KFTC has stated its intention to thoroughly examine whether the Yanolja-Interpark merger restricts competition. This means assessing whether the merger could hinder market competition through monopoly concerns. Accordingly, the KFTC plans to define the relevant markets related to the Yanolja and Interpark merger and evaluate their market shares.

If the KFTC blocks the merger, Yanolja’s plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange could face significant setbacks. Yanolja is preparing for an IPO targeting a listing on the Nasdaq in New York in the second half of this year. The IPO is also a reason why Yanolja has been focusing on ‘scaling up’ through aggressive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) recently.

However, if difficulties arise in acquiring Interpark, Yanolja’s business plans will inevitably require major revisions. Acquiring Interpark, which has annual sales of around 3 trillion KRW, is one of Yanolja’s core strategies to prepare for the ‘post-COVID’ era.

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