eBay have completed the transfer of 80.01% of eBay Korea to Emart for approximately $3.0 billion USD. The news comes almost 5 months after Emart announced that they have reached an agreement for the purchase of eBay’s businesses in Korea.
“We are pleased to finalize the deal between eBay Korea and Emart, bringing together two strong ecommerce and retail companies that can unlock tremendous potential in Korea. By joining Emart, the eBay Korea business has an enormous opportunity ahead. We believe this deal allows eBay to further focus on growing our core marketplace and will offer additional value for our customers, employees and shareholders.”
– Jamie Iannone, Chief Executive Officer, eBay
E-Mart is the largest retailer in South Korea founded in 1993 by Shinsegae. The purchase of a majority holding in eBay South Korea will help them compete against Coupang, who are the largest ecommerce player in the region.
The Company will retain a 19.99% interest in the Korean businesses, including G-Market, IAC and G-9 and they remain committed to buying back up to $7 billion worth of shares for this fiscal year.
Together, eBay Korea and Emart can build a 360-degree ecosystem which will allow full touch points with customers in categories ranging from grocery to general merchandise. Over the next four years, Emart plans to invest more than 1 trillion KRW in fulfillment centers. Offline stores will also be utilized to serve as fulfillment centers, reinforcing Shinsegae Group’s supply chain management system. This will enhance Emart’s same-day delivery capabilities and improve fulfillment centers’ capacity utilization. For years the team has been working on pre-emptive, strategic redeployment of its physical property to digital assets, in preparation for a rapidly evolving retail environment heightened by technology innovations.
