Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae are among the major companies that proceeded with their bids to acquire the Korean unit of the American e-commerce platform, eBay. The two companies have already submitted their bids as the final bidding is due to take place.
The bidding war for the American e-commerce platform
Yonhap News Agency reported that sources revealed that Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae are fiercely competing for the acquisition of eBay Korea, and it is hard to gauge which company is on the winning edge in this bid.
They have forwarded their letters of intent, and the results are expected to be announced soon. The bid for eBay’s sale will be the e-commerce company’s second attempt to sell. It can be recalled that it was in January when eBay Korea was put up for sale, and in May, it has not reached an agreement with potential buyers.
Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae Group are the remaining major competitors in the acquisition of the firm. SK Telecom and PEF company, MBK Partners and Homeplus have all withdrawn their bids as per business insiders.
“MBK Partners do not see great merit for acquiring eBay Korea at 5 trillion as the American e-commerce player can create little synergy with traditional supermarket Homeplus," The Korea Times quoted a business insider as saying with regards to the reason why they dropped out. "SKT signed a strategic partnership recently with Amazon, and it is too busy to pursue eBay Korea at the same time."
It is believed that the acquisition of eBay Korea may transform the online retail business in S. Korea. This is because both Lotte and Shinsegae are already in the retail business, and they could use eBay to further broaden their presence online.
Bidding prices and results
Reuters mentioned that bidding for eBay Korea's sale concluded on Monday afternoon, June 7. However, the prices that Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae Group have submitted were not revealed yet.
Finally, eBay Korea is hoping that it could get at least $4.5 billion or around ₩ 5 trillion since it is currently the third-largest e-commerce firm in the country. It had a total market share of 12.8% last year.


Trump Lifts 25% Tariff on Indian Goods in Strategic U.S.–India Trade and Energy Deal
Asian Markets Slip as AI Spending Fears Shake Tech, Wall Street Futures Rebound
TSMC Eyes 3nm Chip Production in Japan with $17 Billion Kumamoto Investment
Oil Prices Slip as U.S.–Iran Talks Ease Supply Disruption Fears
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI Investment Boom Is Just Beginning as NVDA Shares Surge
Anthropic Eyes $350 Billion Valuation as AI Funding and Share Sale Accelerate
Uber Ordered to Pay $8.5 Million in Bellwether Sexual Assault Lawsuit
Baidu Approves $5 Billion Share Buyback and Plans First-Ever Dividend in 2026
Alphabet’s Massive AI Spending Surge Signals Confidence in Google’s Growth Engine
Fed Governor Lisa Cook Warns Inflation Risks Remain as Rates Stay Steady
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates
Australia’s December Trade Surplus Expands but Falls Short of Expectations
Sony Q3 Profit Jumps on Gaming and Image Sensors, Full-Year Outlook Raised
Thailand Inflation Remains Negative for 10th Straight Month in January
Dow Hits 50,000 as U.S. Stocks Stage Strong Rebound Amid AI Volatility
U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher as Tech Rout Deepens on AI Concerns and Earnings
Singapore Budget 2026 Set for Fiscal Prudence as Growth Remains Resilient 



