Brazil Supreme Court Orders Asset Freeze of Nelson Tanure Amid Banco Master Investigation 
OpenAI Launches Stargate Community Plan to Offset Energy Costs and Support Local Power Infrastructure 
Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson Escalates Proxy Fight to Remove Advent From Board 
Micron to Buy Powerchip Fab for $1.8 Billion, Shares Surge Nearly 10% 
Morgan Stanley Flags High Volatility Ahead for Tesla Stock on Robotaxi and AI Updates 
Netflix Stock Slips After Earnings as Soft 2026 Guidance Overshadows Subscriber Milestone 
Global DRAM Chip Shortage Puts Automakers Under New Cost and Supply Pressure 
BHP Posts Record Iron Ore Output as China Pricing Pressures Loom 
Pop Mart Shares Surge in Hong Kong After First Buyback in Nearly Two Years 
Court Allows Expert Testimony Linking Johnson & Johnson Talc Products to Ovarian Cancer 
Rio Tinto Posts Strong Q4 Iron Ore and Copper Output on Operational Recovery 
Baidu Shares Rise in Hong Kong After Apollo Go Robotaxi Launch in Abu Dhabi 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Limit Wall Street Investment in Single-Family Homes 
Apple China Holiday Sale Offers Discounts Up to 1,000 Yuan on Popular Devices 
United Airlines Posts Record Q4 Revenue as Premium Demand Lifts Earnings 
Walmart to Cut PhonePe Stake in IPO as Tiger Global and Microsoft Exit 
eBay Korea is up for sale since January, and while it has yet to find a buyer, the bidders for its acquisition have grown in number. The best thing about it is that major companies in South Korea have expressed strong interest in buying the e-commerce platform.
Backing out of the bidding race?
As per Yonhap News Agency, the biggest companies, including Kakao, SK Telecom Co., Lotte Group, and Emart Inc., have all been confirmed to place their bids at eBay Korea’s preliminary bidding event. From this list of bidders, industry insiders think that Kakao is one of the investors with the most potential to acquire eBay.
Lotte Group and Emart were also viewed as strong candidates, so it appears that the bidding war would be rigid. However, the list of the bidders was only revealed this week, but there is already a new report that states Kakao is dropping out from the bidding race.
The applications for the preliminary bid were only filed on March 16, and today, it was disclosed that the South Korean Internet company decided to withdraw. With this development, The Korean Times reported that the move raised questions as to why Kakao made the decision.
Possible reason for abandoning plans to buy eBay Korea
Sources stated that Kakao might have canceled its participation in the bidding to focus on its own KakaoTalk e-commerce business model. It was said that the company might have realized that it has its own strengths in successfully managing digital models.
In fact, Kakao has been offering e-commerce and other services under the KakaoTalk platform, where users can buy products at discounted prices. The company has been operating this for some time now, and it was able to gather many customers, and it’s growing continuously.
What’s more, based on the report, Kakao’s e-commerce business reported an annual transaction record amounting to KRW4.6 trillion. Although it is doing great in the business, it was said that it failed to catch up with eBay Korea that has been in operation much longer.
Finally, it is apparent that Kakao has been swayed by its decision to abandon its bid to buy eBay Korea as its own commerce business has a big potential to make it big as well if it will only be developed more. Plus, Kakao may have also taken into account the huge commission fees that it has to pay for acquiring eBay.
