Ropes & Gray Represents E-mart in its $3 Billion Acquisition of eBay’s Korean Businesses

Ropes & Gray represented E-mart Inc. in its approximately $3 billion acquisition of 80.01% interest in eBay’s businesses in South Korea. The transaction was announced on June 24 and is expected to close by the end of 2021 or early 2022, subject to regulatory approvals. The press release is here.

E-mart is South Korea’s first and largest hypermarket operator and a unit of the Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group.  eBay Korea operates South Korea’s leading e-commerce platforms including G-Market, Auction and G-9.  With the transaction, eBay Korea and E-mart will be able to build a 360-degree ecosystem which will allow full touch points with customers in categories ranging from grocery to general merchandise.

The Ropes & Gray team was led by private equity partner Jaewoo Lee and included private equity associate Ethan Kim (both of Seoul). The team also included private equity partners Oliver Nip (Hong Kong); tax partner Elaine Murphy (Boston) and tax associate Chris Shim (New York); litigation & enforcement partners Samer Musallam (Washington D.C.) and Ruchit Patel (London), litigation & enforcement counsel Lisa Kaltenbrunner (London); private equity associates Stephen Hui and Boxin Wang (both of Hong Kong); mergers & acquisitions partner Tara Fisher (Boston); litigation & enforcement partner Thomas Brown (New York) and litigation & enforcement counsel Steven Kaye and Deidre Johnson (both of Boston).