Shinsegae E-Mart Acquires 'SK Wyverns' for 135.2 Billion KRW (Comprehensive)

Realizing 'Enjoyable Baseball' with Shinsegae's Customer Experience and Expertise
Transforming Baseball Stadiums into 'Lifestyle Centers'... Active Investment for Professional Baseball Development
SKT, "Focusing on New Challenges for Balanced Development of Domestic Sports"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Shinsegae Group is pursuing membership as a new member of the KBO Korea Professional Baseball by acquiring the Incheon SK Wyverns professional baseball team.

Shinsegae Group and SK Telecom announced on the 26th that they have agreed on Shinsegae Group's acquisition of the SK Wyverns baseball team and signed a related MOU. Emart will acquire 100% of the SK Wyverns shares held by SKT. The acquisition price totals 135.28 billion KRW, including 100 billion KRW for the shares and 35.28 billion KRW for land and buildings such as the baseball training center.

The team's home base will remain in Incheon, and the coaching staff, players, and front office will all be retained with 100% employment succession.

Shinsegae Group has been exploring the acquisition of a professional baseball team for several years to integrate online and offline markets and expand the online market. The group explained that they pursued the acquisition of SK Wyverns because there is a significant overlap and shared experience between existing customers and baseball fans, which they believe will create strong synergy.

Shinsegae Group believes that by combining the expanding fan base of professional baseball, which has reached 8 million spectators, with Shinsegae Group’s customers, various "customer experience expansions" will be possible. They focused on the fact that the thick baseball fan base, which is most familiar with the online environment and where online and offline integration of gaming and community activities is well advanced, aligns with the leading customer segment in the online market.

Recently, Shinsegae Group, led by Emart and SSG.com, is preparing for the future through online-offline integration. They expect that seamless communication and shared experiences between baseball fans and customers will generate mutual synergy.

From 'Watching Baseball' to 'Enjoying Baseball'... The Evolving Baseball Stadium

Following the MOU signing between Shinsegae and SKT, both companies will accelerate consultations with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and Incheon Metropolitan City and officially begin procedures related to the team acquisition. They plan to complete practical discussions related to the team launch as quickly as possible and intensify preparations for the opening of the '2021 KBO Regular Season' in April.

Shinsegae Group has already formed a task force for team establishment preparations and will soon finalize the team naming, emblem, and character, with an official launch scheduled for March.

Shinsegae Group plans to focus its capabilities on providing new experiences and services to customers visiting the baseball stadium, contributing to the qualitative and quantitative development of professional baseball by transforming it from "watching baseball" to "enjoying baseball," while also enabling fans to become "Shinsegae fans" even outside the stadium.

First, to enhance the enjoyment of watching baseball for professional baseball fans, the baseball stadium will evolve into a "Lifestyle Center" that incorporates Shinsegae Group’s customer experience and expertise. Fans visiting the stadium will be able to enjoy various services offered by Shinsegae in one place, which is expected to further amplify the fun of watching baseball.

Additionally, to create an era of 10 million professional baseball spectators together with fans, Shinsegae Group will actively expand infrastructure by collecting opinions from fans, local communities, and related organizations and pursuing the construction of multipurpose facilities including a dome in the long term.

Furthermore, Shinsegae Group is considering ways to enable more people to access professional baseball outside the stadium by leveraging its product development capabilities to develop and introduce related products and services across various categories such as food, daily necessities, and pet supplies.

SKT: "A New Challenge for Balanced Development of Sports"

Meanwhile, SKT is determined to contribute to the development and support of Korean sports by expanding the base of amateur sports and strengthening the global competitiveness of Korean sports.

By leveraging its experience of long-term sponsorship of amateur sports and achieving good results in many international competitions, SKT plans to broaden the sports base and enhance global competitiveness to elevate the international status of Korean sports.

To this end, SKT has launched the "Korea Sports Development TF" to devise plans for balanced development of various sports and global nurturing and support of domestic sports. They also plan to explore future sports combined with advanced ICT such as AR and VR and consider investments.

SKT expressed, "We sincerely thank all the fans who have loved SK Wyverns so far," and added, "We expect Shinsegae Group to further develop Incheon baseball and Korean professional baseball with strong passion and vision."