KKR Reportedly In Talks To Buy Majority Stake In South Korea's Ticket Monster

(RTTNews) - Private equity firm KKR & Co. L.P. (KKR) is in talks to acquire a majority stake in South Korea's No. 2 e-commerce company Ticket Monster Inc. for 350 billion won or US$316.5 million, Yonhap News Agency reported citing industry sources.

KKR is in the final stage of negotiations with the local arm of Deutsche Bank AG, the sale manager of the deal, to take over a 51 percent stake in the daily deal site.

The report indicated that KKR have partnered with Hong Kong-based investment firm Anchor Equity Partners Asia Ltd. to jointly hold the stake.

Ticket Monster, more commonly known as TMON here, was put up for sale last October as its owner U.S. Groupon Inc. (GRPN) felt the burden of increasing costs to run it in a cut-throat market with two local rivals -- Coupang and WeMakePrice.

The bidding prices had not been revealed during the previous sale process, but the sale failed due to the higher-than-estimated price of TMON.

A number of South Korean companies, including major mobile carrier LG Uplus Inc., had shown interest in buying the e-commerce site.

Groupon took over the whole stake in TMON from U.S. online marketplace operator LivingSocial Inc. for $360 million in 2013 and in less than a year began searching for a buyer. It said it was looking to sell either a partial or controlling stake in TMON.

Founded in 2010 by Daniel Shin, TMON had huge success in its early years as the first deal-of-the-day site in the country.