Kakao Commerce to be merged back into parent company Kakao Corp expected to use cash flows from its ecommerce arm for acquisitions
Translated by Ryu Ho-joung 공개 2021-06-16 08:06:20
이 기사는 2021년 06월 16일 08:05 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.
Kakao Commerce is set to be merged back into its parent company, Kakao Corp, a move seen as part of efforts by the South Korean tech giant to survive the intensifying competition in the ecommerce market.Kakao Corp has scheduled a board meeting next Tuesday to approve a merger with Kakao Commerce, in which the company holds a 99.62% stake, industry sources said.
The rare decision of the rollback comes less than three years after Kakao’s shopping division was split off to form Kakao Commerce in December 2018. The move is widely viewed as the tech giant’s strategy to get a bigger slice in the fast-growing ecommerce market.
The merger will likely enable Kakao Corp to boost its war chest. Kakao Commerce held roughly 400 billion won ($358 million) in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2020, and generated strong operating cash flows of 275.5 billion won last year. It also remains financially sound with a debt ratio of 238%.
Kakao Corp is expected to use the money secured by the merger for acquisitions as it is stepping up efforts to take on Coupang and Naver, which currently dominate the domestic ecommerce market.
Competition in the market is getting fiercer as market players are spending more money to expand their presence. Ebay Korea, which was up for sale earlier this year, attracted strong interest from strategic investors despite its high price tag of 5 trillion won, with retail giants Lotte and Shinsegae currently remaining in the race.
Kakao Corp, which initially expressed interest in acquiring eBay Korea, unexpectedly withdrew from the bidding process after deciding that eBay Korea’s open market platforms are not a good fit with its ecommerce business focused on mobile apps and customized shopping experiences.
Instead, Kakao Corp acquired Zigzag in April for about 1 trillion won. They are similar in terms of the business direction. The online fashion platform, which targets female customers in their 20s and 30s, offers services that recommend products based on preferences of users.
Kakao Commerce has grown rapidly for the past two years, with over 10 million monthly buyers and 21.7 million monthly active users at the end of December 2020. Its revenue nearly doubled to 573.5 billion won year-on-year in 2020, with operating profit and net profit growing more than two-fold to 160 billion won and 123 billion won, respectively, in the same period. (Reporting by Hana Suh)
< 저작권자 ⓒ 자본시장 미디어 'thebell', 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지 >
관련기사
best clicks
최신뉴스 in 전체기사
-
- 이에이트, AI 시뮬레이션·디지털 트윈 기술 선보여
- MBK, '몸값 2조' 지오영 인수 SPA 체결 임박
- [2024 더벨 글로벌 투자 로드쇼-베트남]한인이 설립한 RCE, 세계 첫 ‘중장비 온라인 중고거래’
- 회계법인 해솔, 부동산 타당성 자문 업무협약
- [2024 더벨 글로벌 투자 로드쇼-베트남]베트남의 지오영 '바이메드'·전기오토바이 '셀렉스' 눈길
- 지아이에스, 코스닥 상장 위한 예비심사신청서 제출
- [꿈틀대는 토큰증권 시장]'업계 표준' 루센트블록, '두자릿수' 레코드 조준
- [Company & IB]조달 '막바지' 롯데그룹, 롯데케미칼에 쏠리는 눈
- '910억 CB 발행' 아스트, 경영 정상화 속도 낸다
- [2024 더벨 글로벌 투자 로드쇼-베트남]"2030년까지 20개 유니콘 탄생, 지금이 투자 적기"