Starbucks exits to let partner run South Korea venture

Starbucks is exiting its joint venture in South Korea, seen valued at over $2 billion, by selling a part of its stake to local partner E-Mart and the rest to Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC.

E-Mart, one of the largest retailers in South Korea that currently owns half the JV, will buy an additional 17.5% stake in Starbucks Coffee Korea for $411 million, it said in a filing on Tuesday. It will continue to operate the Starbucks stores. GIC will own the remaining 32.5%.

This suggests a $2.35 billion valuation for the entire business, and that GIC will pay more than $700 million for its stake, according to Reuters calculations.

GIC declined to comment on the deal value.

Starbucks said the deal is expected to be completed over the next 90 days. The U.S. coffee giant counts South Korea as its fifth-largest market.

“South Korea continues to be an important market for Starbucks,” Michael Conway, Starbucks’ group president for international and channel development, said in a statement.

“Part of our success in South Korea – and in many of our international markets – is due to our expertise and judgment in knowing when to rely on local partners to continue to build the business.”

With more than 1,500 stores across 78 cities, Starbucks Coffee Korea’s operating profit surged nearly three-quarters to 45.4 billion won ($39.5 million) in January-March. Last year, amid pandemic curbs, earnings fell 6% from 2019 numbers.

Starbucks Korea, however, declined to comment on why the U.S. coffee giant agreed to divest its stake in the East Asian country.

A Hong Kong-based official of a firm representing Starbucks said there was currently no more comment beyond its press statement.

“Starbucks and E-Mart have had many conversations on how we can continue to grow the Starbucks brand in the market, which led to this decision,” said T.J. Hyung, Executive Vice-President of E-Mart, which operates a nationwide network of over 160 hypermarkets, discount stores and other specialty stores.

E-Mart, and its parent Shinsegae Group, have leveraged a pandemic-led disruption in the Asian e-commerce industry to buy up some businesses.

A Shinsegae spokesperson said Starbucks Coffee Korea will continue to be in a licensing agreement with Starbucks, as it has been when it was a joint venture between Starbucks and Shinsegae Group.

E-Mart said last month it would buy most of EBay’s (EBAY.O) South Korean business for $3 billion, while another affiliate of Shinsegae, SSG.COM Corp, bought an online shopping mall for 265 billion won in April.