eBay Wants A Piece of South Korean Auction Site, GMarket

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) is reportedly negotiating to buy stake in GMarket Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:GMKT)GMarket has solid market share in online auctions for the Korean market.  Interpark Corporation owns 37% stake in GMarket and eBay wants it.  eBay is primarily talking with Interpark Chairman Ki Hyung Lee.

eBay also made a preliminary filing with the Korea Trade Commission requesting approval for the transaction.  There isn’t any assurance about whether the transaction will be completed.  GMarket is partially owned by Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO).  eBay has a division called Internet Auction, a competitor of GMarket in Korea.

Interpark has been shopping for buyers in their GMarket stake since 2007.  GMarket made $35.6 million in profit and $238.3 million in revenues last year.

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