SK Telecom denies 11Street stake sale to Amazon

SK Telecom Co. formally denied a local media report that it is selling a 30 percent stake in its e-commerce unit 11Street to U.S. retail giant Amazon.com.

“It is not true that the company is in talks with Amazon.com to sign a deal to transfer a 30 percent stake in 11Street,” SK Telecom said in a statement. “We are partnering with Amazon.com to launch a service where (Korean) consumers can directly purchase Amazon products at 11Street, but we are not in talks about stake transfer.”

The statement came after a Korean daily newspaper reported Monday that SK Telecom will hand over 30 percent stake in 11Street to Amazon.com through preemptive right of new shares and the American e-commerce giant will achieve the rights to buy up to a 50 percent stake in the Korean e-commerce partner later.

SK Telecom in November last year announced its partnership with Amazon.com to enhance its e-commerce business.

The two parties entered into an equity stake agreement to bolster innovation in the e-commerce sector based on 11Street growth. Under the agreement, Amazon.com is given rights to buy new shares in 11Street should Korean business meet set conditions such as 11Street’s initial public offering (IPO). The Korean e-commerce player is aspiring to make market debut between 2022 and 2023.

Shares of SK Telecom gained 0.94 percent to close at 323,500 won($290.66) on Monday.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]