Photo = Yonhap news

 

[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Texas Pacific Group (TPG), the second-largest shareholder of Kakao Mobility, is reportedly exploring the sale of its stake in the company. Despite Kakao Mobility's steady growth, increasing regulatory scrutiny and the slower expansion of Kakao Group under the current administration have raised investment risks.

According to sources in the investment banking (IB) sector on December 2, TPG has initiated informal discussions with multiple financial (FI) and strategic investors (SI) about selling its shares. While no official sales process has begun, TPG is testing market interest behind the scenes.

Currently, Kakao is the largest shareholder of Kakao Mobility with a 57.30% stake, followed by TPG (14.31%), Carlyle (6.18%), and a consortium of Korea Investment & Securities and Orix PE (5.35%).

Since its establishment in 2017, Kakao Mobility has secured investments totaling approximately 1.1 trillion won. Among these investors, TPG has been one of the most significant contributors, investing around 640 billion won across two rounds in 2017 and 2021. This makes TPG the second-largest shareholder.

TPG's move to sell its stake is reportedly linked to growing concerns surrounding Kakao Group. Once a rising tech conglomerate, Kakao Group expanded from its flagship messenger service into finance, mobility, and content sectors, becoming South Korea's first IT firm to rank within the top 10 conglomerates (15th as of 2024). However, recent regulatory pressures and slowed growth have cast uncertainty on its trajectory.

 

 

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