SSG.com, Relief Pitcher 'Financial Corps'... 30% Stake Investor Replacement

New Investor Olympus Jeilcha (SPC) Signs Shareholders' Agreement
Contract Amount 1.15 Trillion KRW... Acquisition of 30% Stake from Existing FI

SSG.com has completed the replacement of its financial investors (FI).

Shinsegae Group announced on the 14th that Emart and Shinsegae have signed a new shareholder agreement with SSG.com's new investor, Olympus Jeilcha (SPC).

SSG.com logo. Provided by SSG.com

Olympus Jeilcha is a special purpose company involving six banks including KDB Industrial Bank, Shinhan Bank, NH Investment & Securities, and four securities firms. It will acquire 30% of SSG.com's shares previously held by the existing FIs. The contract amount for this shareholder agreement is 1.15 trillion KRW, and the stock transfer is scheduled to take place on the 26th.

A Shinsegae Group official stated, "With the successful attraction of this investor, SSG.com has established a stable management environment, strengthening its growth engine to boldly overcome the rapidly changing e-commerce market. We will not only improve profitability and advance the platform to enhance corporate value but also accelerate innovation in the business structure for sustainable growth."

Shinsegae Group emphasized the significance of this investor attraction as it reconfirmed investor trust in SSG.com in the capital market. The new investor, Olympus Jeilcha, acquired 30% of SSG.com's shares for 1.15 trillion KRW, which Shinsegae explained reflects a corporate valuation of over 3 trillion KRW. The corporate value was calculated based on Olympus Jeilcha's due diligence and evaluations from external institutions.

SSG.com posted an operating loss of 16.5 billion KRW in the third quarter this year, reducing the deficit by 14.2 billion KRW. At the same time, it continued an improving trend in operating profit for three consecutive quarters. In particular, EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) recorded 2.6 billion KRW, maintaining profitability for three consecutive quarters. SSG.com plans to continue improving profitability in the fourth quarter and achieve an annual EBITDA surplus target.

Meanwhile, in June, Shinsegae announced that it plans to sell 1,316,492 common shares of SSG.com held by the existing FIs to one or multiple third parties designated by Emart and Shinsegae by the end of this year.

SSG.com raised 1 trillion KRW from existing FIs in 2019 to strengthen its delivery competitiveness. At that time, both parties signed a put option agreement stipulating that if SSG.com's total transaction volume (GMV) did not exceed a certain level or if IPO-related conditions were not met, the FIs could sell their shares back to Shinsegae at a premium. Subsequently, these FIs demanded that Shinsegae repurchase the shares earlier this year, claiming that SSG.com failed to meet both conditions. In response, Shinsegae has been seeking new investors.