ID :
55778
Thu, 04/16/2009 - 09:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/55778
The shortlink copeid
eBay inks deal to buy into S. Korea's top on-line retailer
SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- eBay Inc. signed a deal Thursday to buy a 34.21 percent stake in Gmarket Inc., South Korea's top on-line retailer, for US$413 million, industry sources said.
The deal calls for eBay, the world's largest Web auctioneer, to buy the stake
from Interpark Corp., which runs a separate on-line mall, and its chief executive
officer, the sources said.
It marks the largest-ever sale of a South Korean Internet firm to a foreign
company, they added.
eBay's South Korean unit, Internet Auction Co., has been competing with Gmarket,
its bigger South Korean rival. Gmarket's sales reached 3.98 trillion won ($3.02
billion) last year, compared with 3.1 trillion won for Internet Auction.
The two companies account for about 90 percent of on-line shopping in South
Korea, and have a combined total of more than 15.4 million registered users.
eBay has reportedly been in talks with Interpark to buy an interest in Gmarket
since August 2008, when it filed for approval from the South Korean government
for the deal. eBay got the nod a month later.
The deal calls for eBay, the world's largest Web auctioneer, to buy the stake
from Interpark Corp., which runs a separate on-line mall, and its chief executive
officer, the sources said.
It marks the largest-ever sale of a South Korean Internet firm to a foreign
company, they added.
eBay's South Korean unit, Internet Auction Co., has been competing with Gmarket,
its bigger South Korean rival. Gmarket's sales reached 3.98 trillion won ($3.02
billion) last year, compared with 3.1 trillion won for Internet Auction.
The two companies account for about 90 percent of on-line shopping in South
Korea, and have a combined total of more than 15.4 million registered users.
eBay has reportedly been in talks with Interpark to buy an interest in Gmarket
since August 2008, when it filed for approval from the South Korean government
for the deal. eBay got the nod a month later.