What: eBay is the third-largest e-commerce company in South Korea.

Why is it important: This acquisition would be key for Lotte Group, as an opportunity to boost its e-commerce and compete with Coupang as well as Shinsegae/Naver partnership.

Lotte Shopping CEO Kang Hee-tae said at the company’s March 23 shareholder meeting that he is interested in eBay Korea. This has to do with the fact that Coupang successfully went public on the New York Stock Exchange and Shinsegae and Naver formed a partnership for a higher market share.

For Lotte Group, eBay Korea is an opportunity to boost Lotte ON, its sluggish e-commerce arm. Lotte ON launched about a year ago, has failed to make any meaningful achievement. A change is inevitable and eBay Korea can serve as a breakthrough.

Shinsegae Group is interested in eBay Korea, too. The group is currently beefing up its e-commerce business based mainly on SSG.com. The e-commerce arm boosted its sales by 53% last year.

eBay Korea’s value is estimated to KRW 5.000 billion (USD 4.420 billion).

Lotte and Shinsegae Interested in Acquiring eBay Korea 

Related items:

• Shinsegae and Naver partnering to compete with Coupang
• Shinsegae and Naver to launch luxury e-commerce platform this summer