Shinsegae Acquires eBay Korea for 3.4 Trillion Won, Jumping to No. 2 in E-commerce

Shinsegae Group's Emart is set to acquire 80% of eBay Korea's stakes for approximately 3.4 trillion won.

Through the acquisition of eBay Korea, Shinsegae Group plans to completely overhaul its business structure towards 'online and digital'. Emart is planning to sign a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire 80.01% of eBay Korea's shares for 3 trillion 440.4 billion won from eBay's headquarters in the USA. The acquisition of eBay marks the starting point for Shinsegae Group to turn its business structure '180 degrees' towards 'online and digital'. Shinsegae stated, "The future of retail will be dominated by online powerhouses," and described the acquisition as a deal not just to buy a company but to buy time and opportunity. Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, Jung Yong-jin, expressed his strong determination for the acquisition, stating, "The decision is based not on how much it costs, but on how much value we can create," aligning with his New Year's message of a determined 'win at all costs' mindset. Upon completion of the acquisition, eBay is expected to play a leading role within the group immediately. Furthermore, the acceleration of Shinsegae's business portfolio and digital transformation is expected to solidify Shinsegae Group as the unequivocal No. 1 retail operator in Korea with an integrated online-offline presence. Upon acquiring eBay, the online proportion of the Emart division will reach about 50%, signifying a major shift in the future business axis towards online and digital. Starting from this, Shinsegae plans to accelerate the construction of a 'digital ecosystem' for the upcoming future. Not only traditional offline retail such as Emart and Shinsegae Department Store but also newly acquired entities such as SSG Landers baseball team and online platforms like eBay and SSG.com will complete a comprehensive '360 ecosystem' that allows meeting all customers anytime, anywhere. With the acquisition of eBay, Shinsegae Group is expected to emerge as a leading operator in the fiercely competitive and rapidly growing domestic e-commerce market. By acquiring eBay's 2.7 million loyal paying customers and the largest level of domestic sellers, it will achieve economies of scale and completely transform into an 'ultimate online company'. Moreover, amidst the fierce competition for IT professionals in Korea, acquiring eBay's skilled IT professionals will accelerate the scale and growth pace of the online business. Shinsegae Group plans to maximize synergy by combining its offline operational know-how and logistics capabilities, accumulated as Korea's top retail company, with eBay to firmly establish a comprehensive platform spanning grocery to lifestyle categories and ensure price competitiveness through integrated purchasing, moving closer to the 'complete e-commerce model'. Based on the know-how of SSG.com, which owns a state-of-the-art online fulfillment center, more than one trillion won will be invested in online fulfillment centers over the next four years, and Shinsegae Group's offline bases will be utilized as online logistics hubs to maximize logistics competitiveness. This is expected to improve seller competitiveness through same-day delivery, among others, and increase the center's operation rate based on eBay's large volume, thereby maximizing investment efficiency. Shinsegae Group has been proactively and dynamically addressing the rapidly changing management environment triggered by digital new technologies and planning for the future of retail by strategically reallocating its group assets centered on real estate and securing investment resources, while also pursuing 'digitalization of assets' for years.