Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Nearly 25 years of experience in analyzing hundreds of companies, especially in Asia. Deep expertise in the following sectors:
- Technology (E-commerce, SaaS, Internet)
- Consumer 
- Special Situations/Deep Value Plays
- Holdcos/Stubs
- Asian Unicorns/Private Companies

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Starbucks Korea - Emart Takes Ownership Control & Prepares for an IPO

Korea M&A Recap in 2021 - A Leapfrog Year

Emart Announces A Major Share Buyback Program

Emart's Restructuring Progress In the Midst of COVID-19

Emart & Kurly - Double Down On the Pricing War Against Coupang

Who Will Acquire Ebay Korea -  Shinsegae/Naver Consortium or Lotte Group?

Battle Lines Drawn As BABA Builds Out First/Last-Mile Capacity; But Who Will Fund 75+ Bn CNY CapEx?

Event-Driven

<p>This insight has two parts.</p><ul>
<li>First, we discuss about the deal involving Ebay Korea which is set to be sold to the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/e-mart-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6993:1" rel="noopener">E Mart Inc (139480 KS)</a> consortium for $<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/4aef059c-d5dc-4d8f-86e0-afd9e09c3ccc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3.1 billion,</a> according to Financial Times.</li>
<li>Second, we discuss about the recent decision by founder of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/coupang" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28425:1" rel="noopener">Coupang (CPNG US) </a>Bom Kim to resign from his positions as chairman of the board and as a registered director of Coupang Corp, the wholly-owned Korean subsidiary of Coupang Inc. (U.S.).   </li>
</ul><div class="content-highlight">
<p>Emart is a deep value stock as it is trading at 0.5x P/B whereas Coupang is a clear growth stock. Going forward, this trade of long Emart and short Coupang could be an interesting opportunity. With the potential closing of the Ebay Korea deal by the Emart consortium, Emart will aim to become the second largest e-commerce player in Korea and in terms of GMV, it could even be ahead of Coupang.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Coupang's market cap is $68.8 billion versus Emart's market cap of $4 billion. Many more value investors will spot this big discrepancy and they are likely to put a net long position on Emart versus Coupang in the coming months. </p>
</div>

This insight has two parts.
First, we discuss about the deal involving Ebay Korea which is set to be sold to the E Mart Inc (139480 KS) consortium for $3.1 billion, according to Financial Times.
Second, we discuss about the recent decision by founder of Coupang (CPNG US) Bom Kim to resign from his positions as chairman of the board and as a registered director of Coupang Corp, the wholly-owned Korean subsidiary of Coupang Inc. (U.S.).   

Emart is a deep value stock as it is trading at 0.5x P/B whereas Coupang is a clear growth stock. Going forward, this trade of long Emart and short Coupang could be an interesting opportunity. With the potential closing of the Ebay Korea deal by the Emart consortium, Emart will aim to become the second largest e-commerce player in Korea and in terms of GMV, it could even be ahead of Coupang.
On the other hand, Coupang's market cap is $68.8 billion versus Emart's market cap of $4 billion. Many more value investors will spot this big discrepancy and they are likely to put a net long position on Emart versus Coupang in the coming months. 


Ebay Korea To Be Sold to Emart Consortium & Why Did Bom Kim Resign as the Director of Coupang Corp?