South Korea’s e-commerce player Naver Corp. recently decided not to join the acquisition of eBay Korea, leaving retail giant Shinsegae Group as the sole bidder for the South Korean unit of the US e-commerce company. Although it had considered buying a partial stake in eBay Korea to strengthen its business, it finally decided against it, Naver said in a regulatory filing.
A consortium consisting of Shinsegae and Naver had been reportedly chosen recently as the preferred bidder to take over eBay Korea, shunting out domestic rival Lotte Shopping from the race.South Korean e-commerce player Naver Corp. recently decided not to join the acquisition of eBay Korea, leaving Shinsegae Group as the sole bidder for the South Korean unit of the US e-commerce firm. Although it had considered buying a partial stake in eBay Korea to strengthen business, it finally decided against it, Naver said in a regulatory filing.#
Naver, however, did not offer details about the reason behind its decision, according to South Korea media reports.
Naver has an 18 per cent share in the country’s e-commerce market, compared with eBay Korea’s 12 per cent and rival Coupang Inc.’s 13 per cent.
E-Mart Inc., a discount store chain under Shinsegae Group, has reportedly offered 3.5 trillion won ($3.1 billion) for an 80 per cent stake in eBay Korea, but the US parent is seeking a higher price.
EBay Korea operates e-commerce platforms Gmarket and Auction in South Korea, and the company’s revenue was 1.3 trillion won last year.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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