S.Korean retail firms Lotte and Shinsegae bid for eBay Korea
07/06/2021 08:31
SEOUL, June 7 (Reuters) - South Korean retailers Lotte
Shopping 023530.KS and Shinsegae Group 023530.KS entered
separate binding bids for eBay's EBAY.O South Korean business,
the retailers' spokesmen said on Monday.
eBay Korea - South Korea's third-largest e-commerce firm
with a 12.8% market share in 2020, according to Euromonitor - is
on sale for what eBay hopes could be up to 5 trillion won ($4.5
billion), analysts said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2LE0GL
The retailers' spokesmen declined to comment on the terms of
their bids. An eBay Korea spokeswoman also declined to comment.
Local retail giants Lotte and Shinsegae have struggled to
catch up to leading competitors like South Korea's No. 1
e-commerce firm Coupang CPNG.N in the fast-growing online
shopping sector, especially after the onset of COVID-19.
South Korea's online shopping transactions were worth 161
trillion won in 2020, accounting for a record 27.2% of total
retail transactions, up from 21.4% in 2019.
($1 = 1,113.1100 won)
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue)
((jungyoon.lee@tr.com; +82 2 6936 1467;))