Why Major Players Are Eyeing Baedal Minjok as It Hits the Market

Naver-Uber Consortium Emerges as a Leading Candidate
Uber Boosts Delivery Hero Stake to 19.5%
Intense Maneuvering to Secure a 'Counter to Coupang'
Preparing for Potential Easing of Early Morning Delivery Regulations for Large Supermarkets

With Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok, being put up for sale at 8 trillion won, consortiums formed by major domestic and international corporations, including Naver, Uber, Shinsegae, and Alibaba, have emerged as strong candidates for the acquisition. As competition in the domestic commerce market intensifies, utilizing Baedal Minjok's assets and infrastructure is considered essential to compete against Coupang, leading to fierce maneuvering among potential buyers.

Baedal Minjok announced that the commission fee paid by restaurant owners will increase from the current 6.8% to 9.8% (excluding VAT) starting this August. On the 11th, a Baedal Minjok sticker was seen on a restaurant in Seoul. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the investment banking industry on May 20, Uber and Naver are said to have formed a consortium and expressed their intention to acquire Woowa Brothers in the preliminary bidding process. Other strong candidates being mentioned include Shinsegae, Alibaba, and Meituan.

Woowa Brothers' parent company, Germany-based Delivery Hero, announced on May 18 (local time) that Uber has acquired additional shares, now holding 19.5% of the issued shares and 5.6% in stock options. Having secured a 7% stake in April, Uber raised its shareholding to 19.5% within just a month. Delivery Hero stated, "We welcome Uber's additional investment as it demonstrates support for our platform and everyday app strategy."

The reason the Uber-Naver consortium is considered a leading candidate is that Uber has been seeking to expand its presence in the Asian market. Uber possesses the capital strength to pay the massive acquisition price and has been deepening its partnership by increasing its stake in Delivery Hero. In the South Korean delivery market, the competitive structure among existing players is well-established, making it difficult for new entrants, so mergers and acquisitions (M&A) may be the only viable alternative. Although Uber sold its Southeast Asian business to Grab, it remains the number one food delivery operator in Japan, with a market share exceeding 70%. Uber has also executed strategies such as acquiring the number one taxi and vehicle platforms in Denmark and Germany. In Korea, Uber is reportedly pursuing an equity investment in Kakao Mobility. Should Uber secure Baedal Minjok's delivery infrastructure in addition to its existing taxi and chauffeur services, it could generate significant synergies in logistics. Previously, Uber entered the Korean market in 2013 with its UberX ride-sharing service but withdrew due to regulations, and Uber Eats also ended service in 2019.

Naver, having strengthened its commerce arm, would gain a powerful tool to counter Coupang if it acquires Baedal Minjok. This would allow Naver to expand its shopping and local platform infrastructure by adding Baedal Minjok's rider network and quick commerce services. Naver has invested 33 billion won in Kurly and launched premium shopping services such as "Kurly N Mart," but still lacks the scale to compete with Coupang. Coupang has dominated the quick commerce market using its rider network and has been closing the gap with Baedal Minjok by increasing the market share of Coupang Eats. However, some believe that Baedal Minjok’s acquisition may not be Naver’s top priority at the moment, since Naver is currently under review by the Fair Trade Commission for its acquisition of Dunamu.

Yonhap News Agency

Chinese capital is also being discussed as a potential acquirer of Baedal Minjok. Shinsegae Group’s Gmarket and Alibaba’s Aliexpress Korea established a joint venture at the end of last year, and Alibaba has been expanding efforts to penetrate the Korean e-commerce market. SSG.com also launched quick commerce services last year, and businesses such as Emart24 have aggressively expanded by joining Coupang Eats. If regulations on overnight delivery by large supermarkets are eased, Shinsegae could use its strengths in fresh food to counter Coupang, making Baedal Minjok an attractive target. An industry insider commented, "There is a possibility that the overnight delivery regulations will be revised after the local elections. If large supermarkets can be used as hubs, companies in the distribution sector could consider acquiring Baedal Minjok as a way to compete with Coupang."

Meituan, China's number one delivery app with Tencent as its largest shareholder, is also a strong candidate. Meituan, which started as a social commerce platform, has expanded into OTT, hotels and travel, food delivery, and quick commerce. Having taken the top spot in a market previously dominated by Ele.me, Meituan also possesses a deep understanding of the sector. Recently, Meituan has accelerated its global expansion in markets such as Brazil, Qatar, and Kuwait.

Although the Korean delivery market continues to grow, Baedal Minjok's performance has slowed due to costly competition with Coupang. According to WiseApp·Retail, the estimated payment amount for the four domestic delivery platforms (Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats, Yogiyo, and DangyoYo) has increased for three consecutive years. As of March, the combined payment amount for the four companies was 3.03 trillion won, a 10% increase year-on-year. The average number of payments per person was 5.4, and the average payment amount was 122,349 won.

Last year, Baedal Minjok’s annual revenue exceeded 5 trillion won. Although service and product revenue increased, various expenses due to the intense competitive environment also rose significantly. Service revenue, which includes commissions, advertising fees, and Baemin Club subscription fees, reached 4.4956 trillion won, up about 1 trillion won from the previous year. Revenue from Baemin Bmart, which delivers products directly purchased by Baedal Minjok within one hour, was 781.1 billion won, a 3.2% increase. In contrast, outsourcing expenses including rider delivery fees reached 3.1543 trillion won last year, a 41% increase (917.3 billion won) compared to 2024 (2.2369 trillion won).

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