On Wednesday, in a statement EBay said, it will sell its South Korean business to Shinsegae Group and Naver, an e-commerce firm for around $3.6 billion (4 trillion won).

According to Euromonitor, EBay Korea with a market share of about 12.8% in 2020, is South Korea’s third-largest e-commerce firm. It operates platforms including G9, Gmarket, and Auction.

eBay Korea, Shinsegae, and Naver declined comment.

In a report the Korea Economic Daily said, Lotte Shopping had also been in the running, citing anonymous investment banking sources.

South Korea represents the world’s fourth largest e-commerce market.

According to data from Euromonitor, e-commerce saw an increase in market share because of the coronavirus-induced COVID-19 pandemic; it accounted for 35.8% of the retail market in 2020 compared to 28.6% in the previous year.

($1 = 1,117.7000 won)

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Tags: acquisition, auction, business, coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID19, divestment, e-commerce, eBay Inc, EBay Korea, Euromonitor, G9, Gmarket, investment banking, Lotte Shopping, M&A, market share, merger, Naver, pandemic, platforms, retail market, Shinsegae Group, South Korea, South Korean, unit