[Special Stock] Interpark, Desired by Yanolja, Rises 6% on M&A Expectations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Interpark is showing strong performance on the 2nd. The stock price is soaring as trading volume increases due to expectations of mergers and acquisitions.

As of 10:28 AM on the day, Interpark is trading at 8,910 KRW, up 5.69% compared to the previous trading day. It surged to 9,080 KRW in the early session.

Recently, attention has increased as it was reported that Yanolja, which received a 2 trillion KRW investment from Vision Fund, is entering the Interpark acquisition battle. Yanolja's intention to acquire Interpark is said to be strong. Acquiring Interpark, which is also prominent in the travel business, is expected to create high synergy with its travel platform.

Interpark operates four divisions: shopping, books, entertainment, and tours. Among these, most sales are concentrated in the travel and performance divisions. In 2019, the total transaction amount of Interpark's tour and performance divisions accounted for nearly 70% of the total transaction amount. In 2019, the total transaction amount of the tour division was 1.08 trillion KRW, and the performance division was 748.9 billion KRW, accounting for 48% and 20% of the total, respectively.

The acquisition target is 28% of Interpark shares held by founder Lee Ki-hyung and others, with the value of the shares for sale estimated at about 130 billion KRW. Adding a management premium, the sale price is mentioned to be between 150 billion and 200 billion KRW.