Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, decided to purchase all the equity in Emart held by his mother, Lee Myung-hee, the chairperson. Consequently, after the market closed on the 10th, Emart's stock price reached the upper limit (the highest price limit).
Emart's shares traded at 71,200 won in after-hours transaction after the market closed at 4:30 p.m. that day. The closing price was 64,800 won, marking a 9.88% (6,400 won) increase and hitting the upper limit. The upper limit for after-hours transactions is 10% above the closing price.
News of the owner family's equity transaction appears to have stimulated investor sentiment. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system (DART), Chairman Chung and Chairperson Lee reported their transaction plan after the market closed that day. Chairman Chung plans to purchase 2,787,582 shares of Emart held by Chairperson Lee at 76,800 won per share from February 10 to March 11.
The transaction price was calculated by adding a 20% premium to the closing price of the day before the report was prepared. The total transaction amount is 214.1 billion won. Once the transaction is completed, Chairman Chung's equity in Emart will increase from the existing 18.56% to 28.56%.
Shinsegae Group recently teamed up with Alibaba Group to target the domestic e-commerce market. The two groups decided to establish a joint venture (JV), with Emart contributing 80% of its stake in Gmarket and Alibaba Group also investing in AliExpress Korea's equity and 300 billion won in cash.