Uber Acquires 49% Stake in Joint Venture
To Strengthen Investment in Korean Market
Global mobility platform Uber will acquire all shares of UT, a taxi-hailing platform jointly established with Tmap Mobility, a subsidiary of SK Square. Competing with vehicle-sharing service providers such as Kakao Mobility and Tada, Uber plans to further strengthen its investment in the Korean market through this share acquisition. Tmap Mobility plans to accelerate its transition to a data-centric business utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 20th, Tmap held a board meeting the previous day and decided to sell its 49% stake in UT to Uber for approximately 56.9 billion KRW. The expected completion date of the share sale is May 30, 2025, carried out as part of business restructuring and management efficiency efforts.
UT, which operates taxi-hailing services, is a joint venture with Uber holding 51% and SK Square subsidiary Tmap Mobility holding 49%. Uber first entered the Korean market in 2013 but suspended operations amid controversy over 'quasi-call taxis.' Since 2021, Uber has been operating through UT, competing with Kakao Mobility, Tada, and others.
Uber intends to fully commit to its domestic expansion through this share acquisition. Uber has consistently shown interest in the Korean market. Earlier in August, Khosrowshahi, Uber's CEO, visited Korea for the first time to share the company's business vision in Korea.
Dom Taylor, Head of Uber Mobility Asia-Pacific, stated, "We are very pleased to expand our investment for sustainable growth and coexistence in the mobility industry in the high-growth potential Korean market. We will provide better service experiences to users, support drivers' income generation, and strengthen our position as a trusted partner."
Tmap will also benefit from improved financial structure. UT recorded operating losses of 39.8 billion KRW in 2021, 51.2 billion KRW in 2022, and 56.8 billion KRW in 2023, with the deficit widening. This was the result of aggressive marketing, including low commissions, to chase the industry leader Kakao Mobility.
Tmap is expected to accelerate restructuring toward a profitability-focused business model. Earlier, SK Square also expressed its intention at the March shareholders' meeting this year to focus on strengthening the revenue base of its ICT portfolio. Accordingly, in addition to the sale of UT shares, the sale of its subsidiary 'Seoul Airport Limousine' and the corporate chauffeur service subsidiary 'Good Service' is also underway.
Tmap will focus on highly profitable data-based businesses such as driving scores, application programming interfaces (API), and advertising, aiming to turn EBITDA positive next year.
SK Square also plans to actively support the liquidation of non-core assets of its subsidiaries, including Tmap. It is also considering selling stakes in some subsidiaries. Since its launch, SK Square has achieved various successes, including the sale of SK Shieldus and NanoEntek, partial disposal of SK Planet shares, and realization of investment gains from Krafton.
Lee Jaehwan, Head of Strategy at Tmap Mobility, said, "A full-scale structural reform is underway centered on mobility data accumulated over more than 20 years. Along with AI adoption, we will introduce advanced services that connect mobility."
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