KT buys 11.4 percent of Team Fresh, a logistics company

KT aims to beef up its logistics business using Team Fresh's cold-chain logistics centers and other capabilities related to fresh food delivery. Team Fresh will adopt KT's digital logistics technologies and services in managing its logistics centers.

KT acquired 11.4 percent of Team Fresh for 55.3 billion won ($43.1 million), the telecom company said Monday. Through the strategic investment, KT became the second-largest shareholder of the local cold-chain logistics company.

KT aims to beef up its logistics business using Team Fresh’s cold-chain logistics centers and other capabilities related to fresh food delivery. Team Fresh will adopt KT’s digital logistics technologies and services in managing its logistics centers.

Founded in 2018, Team Fresh is a Seoul-based logistics company specializing in cold-chain food delivery. KT established its Lolab logistics subsidiary last year amid the accelerated digital transformation in the industry, branching out to non-telecommunication businesses to diversify its portfolio outside traditional network subscriptions. Lolab began to offer Brokarry, a digital logistics service, in May.

Team Fresh owns a 20 percent share of Lolab as the second-biggest shareholder, with KT holding the rest.

GS Retail invested 2 billion won in Team Fresh last September.

“In order to gain a competitive edge in the fast-changing logistics sector, establishing a win-win ecosystem within the industry and embracing the digital transformation is a must,” said Choi Kang-lim, head of the company’s AI Mobility business unit.

"We will work together with logistics companies such as Team Fresh in a close partnership and set a successful example of adopting artificial intelligence-powered digital transformation technologies, to sharpen the competitiveness of the local logistics sector."

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]