eBay buys 34.2-per cent stake in Gmarket for $413 million

13 April 2009

eBay Inc is acquiring a controlling stake in South Korean online retailer Gmarket Inc for $413 million, at a 32.5-per cent premium, news service eDaily reported on Monday, at $24 a share for a toatal deal value of $413 million. Gmarket's latest closing of $18.12 a share.

eBay is acquiring the Gmarket stake from its current top shareholder Interpark Corp, and the Korean firm's chairman, Ki Hyung Lee.

The long-discussed deal would help US online auctioneer eBay emerge as a dominant player in South Korea's customer-to-customer online market by taking control of its key competitor. (See: eBay seeks stake in South Korean online retailer Gmarket).

eBay had ben in discussions with Interpark, the largest shareholder in Gmarket, directly held a 29.3-per cent stake while and Lee directly held 7.3 per cent as of December 2008. Yahoo is also a shareholder in the Korean entity with a 10-per cent stake.

The final contract would be signed on Wednesday.

Nasdaq-listed Gmarket runs customer-to-customer marketplaces and has more than 10 million registered users in South Korea. It competes with eBay's South Korean unit, Internet Auction Co.

eBay has won conditional approval from South Korea's antitrust watchdog on the Gmarket deal. When combined, Gmarket and Internet Auction would have 87 per cent of the country's online customer-to-customer market.