Delivery Hero Sets 8 Trillion Won Valuation as It Begins Sale of Baedal Minjok

Teaser Letters Sent to Domestic and Global Companies Including Naver, Uber, and Alibaba

Germany's Delivery Hero (DH) has begun the process of selling Woowa Brothers, the operator of "Baedal Minjok," Korea's leading food delivery app. The company is estimated to be worth as much as 8 trillion won, attracting interest from global corporations as potential buyers.

According to industry sources on May 14, DH has selected JP Morgan as the lead manager for the sale and has sent teaser letters (investment prospectuses) to both domestic and international companies, as well as global private equity fund managers. Naver has also received a teaser letter from DH, and other companies reportedly included in the process are global ride-hailing and delivery platform Uber, Chinese tech giant Alibaba, and US-based delivery platform DoorDash.

DH's expected sale price is around 8 trillion won. In 2019, DH acquired an 87% stake in Woowa Brothers for 4 billion dollars (approximately 4.75 trillion won). The price DH hopes for is about 12 times Woowa Brothers’ average annual operating profit over the past two years. Last year, Woowa Brothers recorded sales of 5.283 trillion won and operating profit of 592.9 billion won.

Previously, DH obtained approval to acquire Baedal Minjok on the condition of selling Yogiyo during a business combination review by the Korea Fair Trade Commission. In compliance with the Fair Trade Commission’s administrative order, DH sold Yogiyo, which it held, for 800 billion won.

DH's urgent need to improve its financial structure is also cited as a reason for accelerating the sale. In March, DH sold Foodpanda, a Taiwanese delivery platform, to Singapore-based Grab for 600 million dollars (approximately 900 billion won) as part of its efforts to improve its debt ratio and secure liquidity.

DH's total debt stands at about 6.166 billion euros (approximately 9.25 trillion won), resulting in a debt ratio of 231.2%. In a shareholder letter released in December last year, DH stated, "We are conducting a comprehensive strategic review of our portfolio, capital allocation, and overall cost structure, and will implement measures based on the results."

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