11st to invest ￦25 billion for 7.2% stake in Barogo

E-commerce operator 11st will acquire a 7.2 percent stake in delivery company Barogo with a 25 billion won ($22.73 million) investment.

E-commerce operator 11st will acquire a 7.2 percent stake in delivery company Barogo with a 25 billion won ($22.73 million) investment.

11st on Monday announced it has decided to acquire 25 billion won in convertible redeemable preference shares in Barogo, with the hope of making use of its short-distance delivery system.

Barogo is currently raising 50 billion won through Series C investment.

Barogo delivers food from restaurants and has roughly 1,000 transportation hubs nationwide with 54,000 registered delivery drivers. The total cost of products delivered by Barogo last year came to 2.92 trillion won, up 166 percent on year.

11st's goal through the investment is to provide “a differentiated delivery service to customers,” but the company hasn’t yet provided details on how the two firms will work together.

The e-commerce firm said it will expand its partnerships with companies inside and outside of Korea and plans to improve delivery services, like by offering same-day delivery.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]