[단독]Naver, eBay Korea acquisition card’manjijak’

Naver is considering whether to participate in the acquisition of eBay Korea. If Naver enters the takeover battle, all’big tech players’ in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, including Naver, Kakao, and SK Telecom, will participate in the takeover of eBay Korea. Naver already has a’blood alliance’ with Shinsegae and CJ Group. Therefore, there is a growing interest in whether Naver will build an allied front to acquire eBay Korea.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 16th, Naver secretly received an investment prospectus (IM) for the acquisition of eBay Korea earlier this month. The acquisition candidates that have received IM so far are known as large distribution companies such as Shinsegae and Lotte Group, big tech companies such as Kakao and SK Telecom, and large private equity funds (PEF) such as MBK Partners, KKR, and Carlyle.

An official from the IB industry said, “Naver has continuously requested that the news of IM receipt to the seller does not leak out,” and said, “In the market, only Kakao among Internet companies is seen as strong intent to acquire eBay Korea,” he said.

The industry believes that Naver’s interest in acquiring eBay Korea is related to Coupang’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Coupang raised more than 5 trillion won in funding through listing on the New York Stock Exchange, predicting aggressive investment. As a result, it is an analysis that Naver, the domestic’#1 e-commerce industry’ operator, has become aware of the crisis. According to the securities industry, as of last year, Naver Shopping’s GMV amounted to 29 trillion won, 5 trillion won compared to Coupang (24 trillion won).

Naver is also preparing for Shinsegae, a strong offline distribution company, and Alliance Front. On this day, Naver decided to sign a distribution agreement with Shinsegae by exchanging a stake worth KRW 250 billion. Previously, it is known that Jung Yong-jin, vice chairman of Shinsegae, met with Naver founder Lee Hae-jin and proposed alliances for the overall commerce business, including the acquisition of eBay Korea.

EBay Korea plans to close preliminary bidding this afternoon and select candidates for acquisition (short list). Currently, Kakao and SK Telecom are presumed to be genuine original sellers. SK Telecom operates an open market called ’11th Street’. SK Telecom’s CEO Park Jung-ho officially announced his participation in the eBay Korea takeover.

Naver is weighing participation in eBay Korea bidding, and it is interested in what variables will be thrown according to the results of the preliminary bidding closing today. In this regard, a Naver official said, “I have never requested or received an IM from eBay Korea.”