[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] GS Retail is in deep agony over whether to sell Pet Friends. Although IMM Private Equity (PE), the largest shareholder, has officially announced that it will sell its stake in Pet Friends, GS Retail is expected to reach a conclusion based on the growth potential of Aboutpet, another pet commerce affiliate.
According to industry sources on the 18th, GS Retail is still considering whether to invoke a preferential purchase right to acquire a stake in IMM PE's Pet Friends first or use the tagalong right to sell them together.
Pet Friends is the overwhelming number one company in the field of pet commerce by providing services such as early morning delivery similar to Coupang. IMM PE and GS Retail bought 65.8% and 30.0% of their Pet Friends shares in July 2021, respectively, and GS Retail became the second-largest shareholder.
IMM PE has officially announced the sale of Pet Friends and selected the host company since the end of last year, but GS Retail has not decided its direction yet.
For GS Retail, selling Pet Friends is a major decision that risks the possibility of pulling out of the pet commerce market. According to the big data analysis platform "Mobile Index," the average monthly user (MAU) of Pet Friends and Aboutpet as of the first half of last year was 320,000 to 76,000, a fourfold difference. If you hand over your Pet Friends stake to another company, it is impossible to maintain your position as a leading company.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
