Singapore's Qoo10 acquires Interpark Commerce

Singapore's Qoo10 bought Interpark Commerce, an Interpark spinoff, Qoo10 announced on Friday. The Singaporean entity declined to disclose the price and the ownership stake, although local media reports it bought the spinoff for 150 billion...

Qoo10 founder Koo Young-bae [YONHAP]

Singapore's Qoo10 bought Interpark Commerce, an Interpark spinoff, Qoo10 announced on Friday.

The Singaporean entity declined to disclose the price and the ownership stake, although local media reports it bought the spinoff for 150 billion won ($115 million).

Qoo10 announced on Friday that it signed a share purchase agreement to gain control of Interpark Commerce, which is focused on book sales and shopping.

Yanolja acquired 70 percent of Interpark’s commerce business for 294 billion won in October 2021.

It has been trying to sell the e-commerce businesses in book sales and shopping.

Yanolja established a spinoff company, Interpark Commerce, on March 1 and transferred related businesses to the company.

“Qoo10 will provide a much faster delivery service and improved shopping experience for Interpark Commerce’s 28 million consumers,” Qoo10 said in a statement. “For sellers, we anticipate to create a bigger revenue stream as we can connect them to our consumers in 24 countries.”

Interpark intends to streamline its businesses focusing on travel and ticket bookings.

Qoo10 is increasing its size ahead of the listing of Qxpress, a related company set for a Nasdaq listing. It is currently under review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In August 2022, Qoo10 acquired TMON through a stock swap deal with new shares issued by Qxpress.

Media reports say that Qoo10 is also on the way to acquire another domestic e-commerce company, WeMakePrice.

Based in Singapore, Qoo10 is an e-commerce platform founded by eBay and GMarket founder Koo Young-bae. The platform operates across five economies, including Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]