Interpark shares soar on takeover expectations

By Anna J. Park

Interpark's share price rallied again on Wednesday as investor sentiment continued to be lifted by expectations of the successful acquisition of Korea's first-generation e-commerce platform.

The stock finished at 9,480 won ($8.28) on Wednesday, up 3.38 percent from the previous session. The price soared to as high as 10,450 won at 9:10 a.m., just 10 minutes after the start of daily trading.

Net purchases of the stock by retail investors were largely responsible for Wednesday's rise, after sentiment was lifted further on the news that China's top travel business, Trip.com Group Limited, formerly Ctrip.com International, entered the bid to acquire Interpark. Trip.com Group accounts for about 60 percent of the Chinese tourism market.

Interpark's stock has been bullish since July 13 following news that the company was up for sale. After surging 22.83 percent and 29.97 percent on July 13 and 14, the stock price rose by another five percent as of Wednesday, despite fluctuations.

According to investment banking industry sources, NH Investment & Securities ― the main underwriter of the sale ― recently distributed Interpark's information memorandum to potential bidders. Around seven businesses are said to have shown interest in acquiring a 28.14 percent stake in the company, currently held by Interpark's founder and CEO Lee Ki-hyung.

Yanolja is also said to have been approached by a brokerage firm. Since Yanolja attracted a two trillion won investment from SoftBank, market watchers expected the company to focus on expanding its size by aggressively acquiring global travel businesses.

As Interpark has particular strength in travel and flight reservations on its e-commerce platform, it is an appealing target for major travel businesses, including Yanolja. Whoever wins the bidding war between Trip.com Group Limited and Yanolja could expand their dominance over the Korean market. A Yanolja company official declined to officially confirm the firm's participation in the bidding.

Specific names of the participating bidders will be clarified at the preliminary round of the bidding, slated to be held later this month. Big-name platform tech companies like Naver and Kakao were expected to show interest in acquiring Interpark, but their interest in the bidding appears to be weaker than travel platform companies.