Goldman Sachs moves to acquire control of Tmap Mobility Co., Ltd. [fn Market Watch]

[Financial News] Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank (IB), is moving to acquire control of Tmap Mobility, the operator of TMAP, Korea’s No. 1 navigation service. The deal would include shares held by SK Square, which owns 63.23% of Tmap Mobility, as well as shares held by existing investors. Negotiations with the existing investors over the percentage of shares to be sold are ongoing.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 29th, Goldman Sachs is negotiating with SK Square to acquire control of Tmap Mobility. The goal is to close the deal by the end of the year. Goldman Sachs is negotiating to buy shares not only from SK Square (63.23%), but also from major financial investors (FIs), including Eossenta Mobility Investment Purpose Company (Affirma Capital; 9.83%), Terameter Holdings (EastBridge Partners; 9.83%) and KB Kookmin Bank (6.39%). It aims to secure at least a 60%–70% stake and become the largest shareholder. The investment is expected to total 700 billion to 800 billion won.
A source familiar with SK Square said, “SK Square has decided to sell control of Tmap Mobility. The plan is to retain part of its stake and work with Tmap Mobility,” adding, “It has not yet been decided how much the existing investors will cash out.”
Investors in Tmap Mobility invested 400 billion won in 2021 on the assumption that the company would go public. It was initially set to list by 2025, but the timeline was pushed back to 2027 following consultations among shareholders. With a listing next year looking impractical, SK Square appears to have put the sale of control to Goldman Sachs on the table.
Investors are more likely to exercise their put options against SK than to sell their shares to Goldman Sachs. That reflects the view that the put-option exercise price with SK is higher than the valuation Goldman Sachs is expected to offer. This is why some say a smooth sale will be possible only if negotiations push the price for the shares being sold above the put-option exercise price.
This would be the second time Tmap Mobility’s largest shareholder has changed. Tmap Mobility began in 2002 as a navigation service called Nate Drive, operated by SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (SKT). In December 2020, SKT established Tmap Mobility by spinning off its mobility business as a subsidiary. The following year, Tmap Mobility became a subsidiary of SK Square, which was launched after being spun off from SKT.
An SK Square representative said, “We are reviewing various options to support Tmap Mobility’s future growth, and will share details once they are finalized.”
[email protected] Kang Gu-gwi Reporter