[서울신문] Distribution dinosaurs are fierce in the game before the acquisition of eBay Korea… LOTTE’s main bidding is active, Shinsegae is’Sinjung’

Kang Hee-seok, CEO of E-Mart, “I am seriously contemplating”
It seems to act as a variable for the exchange of shares with Naver.

Hee-Tae Kang, Vice Chairman of Lotte Shopping, “Sufficient Interest”
At the time of the acquisition, Naver and Coupang and the industry’s third power system

SKT and MBK Partners also participate in preliminary bidding
The 5 trillion won high acquisition hope could be an obstacle

The acquisition of eBay Korea (Auction·Gmarket·G9) with an annual transaction amount of 20 trillion won has risen. As leading candidates, such as Lotte and Shinsegae (E-Mart), who participated in the preliminary bidding, expressed their official interest in the main bidding at the general shareholders’ meeting. Although the expected acquisition price of 5 trillion won is mentioned as a variable, it is evaluated that the fierce notice game of’distribution dinosaurs’ has begun to capture the victory of the rapidly changing online market.

On the 24th, Kang Hee-seok, CEO of E-Mart, said at the shareholders’ meeting held in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, “the specific plan to participate in the main bidding has not been confirmed, but we are seriously considering it” regarding the acquisition of eBay Korea. CEO Kang explained, “The continuous growth of E-Mart in the rapidly changing e-commerce environment is a way to give back to shareholders.” “In this context, we are seriously considering whether the acquisition of eBay Korea will help.”

The day before, vice chairman Kang Hee-tae of Lotte Shopping also said, “I am interested in enough before taking over eBay Korea.” Both companies are known to have participated in the preliminary bidding that ended on the 16th, but they have avoided official confirmation. In the preliminary bidding, SK Telecom (11st Street) and MBK Partners (operated by Homeplus), including two companies, participated in the preliminary bidding.

According to the National Statistical Office, the amount of transactions in the domestic e-commerce market amounted to 166.1 trillion won as of last year. This market is estimated to grow to 270 trillion won in 2025, but there is no overwhelming power yet. Naver Shopping (17%) and Coupang (13%), which are the 1st and 2nd in market share, also have only 10% market share. The market share of eBay Korea is about 12% following them.

According to industry sources, Lotte is taking an active position in the main bidding of eBay Korea. This is because its own platforms such as’Lotteon’ are sluggish with a 5% market share, and there is no clear breakthrough. When Lotte takes over eBay Korea, the transaction amount will quickly exceed 27 trillion won and rise to a position comparable to Naver Shopping. In terms of market share, it can solidify the industry’s three strongest system with Naver and Coupang.

E-Mart, which operates SSG.com with a 3% market share, will also become a leader with a transaction volume of 24 trillion won and a market share of 15% when it acquires eBay Korea. However, some predict that the necessity of acquiring eBay Korea, which provides open market business, will have decreased as E-Mart started a omnidirectional business cooperation through exchange of shares of 150 billion won (100 billion won for Shinsegae International) with Naver. SSG.com announced that it will provide an official open market service in the first half of the year, apart from this acquisition.

An official from the e-commerce industry said, “There is a side that caused Coupang’s second-largest share of the stock market in the US to infuse heat before the acquisition of eBay Korea. EBay Korea tried to sell it in 2018 as well, but it was missed due to the difference in price.

Reporter Myeong Hee-jin [email protected]