Collaboration between TMON's management and experienced local
partners to enhance growth of South Korean e-commerce leader
SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Private equity investor Anchor Equity Partners and leading global
investment firm KKR have signed a definitive agreement to acquire a
controlling stake in leading South Korean mobile commerce company Ticket
Monster Inc. ("TMON") from Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN).
Anchor and KKR, in conjunction with TMON's management, will jointly
acquire a controlling stake in TMON and will inject new capital into the
company to help fund its future growth opportunities. Anchor and KKR
will hold equal stakes in the company. Some of the world's largest
pension, sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors, including
the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Pavilion Capital, will also
be participating as investors in this transaction. Groupon, which
acquired TMON in January 2014, will retain a fully diluted 41% minority
stake in the company. The investment is based on a $782 million fully
diluted valuation of TMON. KKR and Anchor will work closely with TMON's
co-founder and CEO Dan Shin and the management team to grow the business.
"We are extremely excited to work with such world-class partners. KKR
and Anchor not only bring global experience in the retail and technology
sectors, but they are also experienced local partners with strong
business expertise in South Korea," said Mr. Shin. "We are thrilled to
be working with distinguished partners who share our vision for growth
and offer significant pools of capital in support of TMON's initiatives.
With their help and investment, this company will have greater
opportunities to attract new customers and expand into new businesses."
Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofsky said the partnership strengthens an already
powerful local brand.
"Ticket Monster demonstrates the global appeal and power of a mobile
commerce marketplace," said Mr. Lefkofsky. "With additional support from
KKR and Anchor, TMON will be even better resourced and positioned in the
Korean market."
TMON is a pioneering mobile-first, e-commerce platform that provides a
premium online and mobile shopping experience to customers across South
Korea. TMON has already become one of Korea's largest online retail
marketplaces and offers a curated selection of discounted items across
three main categories: Goods, which includes clothing, household and
fast-moving consumer goods; Local Services, including restaurant,
entertainment and leisure coupons; and Travel, encompassing discounted
transportation tickets, hotel stays and vacation packages.
TMON's business leverages key consumption and technology trends in South
Korea, a market which is experiencing a rapid shift from
offline-to-online and PC-to-mobile retail. South Korea's e-commerce
market has experienced a CAGR of 16% since 2008, stemming from
consumers' increasing focus on convenience, selection and value items,
according to South Korea's National Statistics Office. Mobile commerce,
led by application-based technology, is expected to achieve 40% market
penetration by 2017, up from 2% in 2011, according to Mirae Asset
research. This complements steady mobile growth in South Korea due to
the country's extensive telecom and logistics infrastructure.
TMON's mobile application had been downloaded more than nine million
times as of December 31, 2014. About 70% of TMON's customers complete
their transactions via mobile.
"We believe that South Korea represents a sizable and attractive market
opportunity given the clear shift by consumers towards mobile commerce,
convenience and value goods," said Stephen Ko, Managing Director of KKR
Asia, and Sae Wook Wi, Partner of Anchor.
"We are excited to invest in this fast-growing sector and provide
greater financial resources to Ticket Monster. The strong combination of
a well-resourced shareholder base and an innovative management team puts
TMON in pole position to lead the market with dynamic, creative services
and drive value for consumers. We look forward to working with Dan, his
team at TMON and Groupon during an exceptional time for mobile commerce
in Korea," added Mr. Ko and Mr. Wi.
KKR, which is making the investment from Asian Fund II, has a
long-established track record of supporting technology companies, having
invested more than $13 billion of equity in more than 50 companies
across software, internet, media and IT-infrastructure since 2000.
Recent investments include GoDaddy, Internet Brands, Trainline and Uxin.
KKR also intends to leverage its experience investing in world-class
consumer goods and retail companies, including Oriental Brewery, Dollar
General, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Haier, to help TMON grow and
achieve its goals.
Established in 2012, Anchor has quickly garnered a solid reputation for
its experience and portfolios in the services, logistics & distribution
and consumer & retail sectors in Korea, as well as successful track
records in developing its portfolio companies as leaders in their
respective industries. Key investments include Metanet MCC, Geo-young,
CheonJiYang and Kyungnam Energy. Anchor will leverage its experience to
create value in TMON by implementing best practices and instituting
sophisticated corporate governance and controls. Anchor invests in TMON
from Anchor Equity Partners Fund I.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015,
subject to regulatory and customary closing conditions.
About Ticket Monster
Ticket Monster Inc. was founded in 2010 and is one of the leading
e-commerce companies in Korea today. In 2014, 70% of TMON's transactions
were completed on mobile devices and its customer base continued to
expand into multiple age segments. The company operates in three key
verticals - Goods, Local and Travel - and offers over 47,000 SKUs
through partnerships with approximately 15,000 merchants.
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages investments across
multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure,
real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive
investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment
approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value
creation at the asset level. KKR invests its own capital alongside its
partners' capital and brings opportunities to others through its capital
markets business. References to KKR's investments may include the
activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR
& Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com.
About Anchor Equity Partners
Founded in 2012, Anchor Equity Partners is a private equity fund
focusing primarily on growth and consolidation opportunities in Korea.
Anchor was established by three senior investment professionals
consisting primarily of Goldman Sachs' Korean Principal Investment team.
In all of its investments, Anchor focuses on closely partnering with the
right management teams and owners to create shareholder value.
About Groupon
Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) is a global leader of local commerce and the place
you start when you want to buy just about anything, anytime, anywhere.
By leveraging the company's global relationships and scale, Groupon
offers consumers a vast marketplace of unbeatable deals all over the
world. Shoppers discover the best a city has to offer on the web or on
mobile with Groupon Local, enjoy vacations with Groupon Getaways, and
find a curated selection of electronics, fashion, home furnishings and
more with Groupon Goods.
Groupon is redefining how traditional small businesses attract, retain
and interact with customers by providing merchants with a suite of
products and services, including customizable deal campaigns, credit
card payment processing capabilities, and point-of-sale solutions that
help businesses grow and operate more effectively. To search for great
deals or subscribe to Groupon emails, visit www.Groupon.com.
To download Groupon's top-rated mobile apps, visit www.groupon.com/mobile.
To learn more about the company's merchant solutions and how to work
with Groupon, visit www.GrouponWorks.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those
discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences
include, but are not limited to, the factors included under the headings
'Risk Factors' and 'Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations' in Groupon's Annual Report on Form
10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may
be obtained by visiting Groupon's Investor Relations web site at http://investor.groupon.com
or the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of
future events. Although Groupon believes that the expectations reflected
in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee
that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and
circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be
achieved or occur. Moreover, neither Groupon nor any other person
assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the
forward-looking statements. Groupon undertakes no obligation to update
publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of
this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to
changes in its expectations.
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Groupon
Bill Roberts, +1 312-459-5191
billr@groupon.com
or
Mihyun
Kim, +82-10-8705-4543
mihyun.kim@insightcomms.com
KKR
Asia
Pacific
Anita Davis, +852-3602-7335
anita.davis@kkr.com
or
Soo
Park, +82-10-3752-0415
soopark@newscom.co.kr
or
Americas
Kristi
Huller, +1 212-230-9722
kristi.huller@kkr.com
Anchor
Equity Partners
Sean Choi, +852-3998-4960
sean.choi@anchorpe.com
Ticket
Monster
James Song, +82 2 2098 4287 / +82 10 9030 7883
james.song@tmon.co.kr
Source: Groupon, Inc.
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