This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:38 p.m. on May 20, 2026.
With the possibility that Uber may drop out of the race to acquire Woowa Brothers, operator of "Baemin," some expect Naver could seek a new consortium partner. Naver has considered securing a minority stake by teaming up with a separate investor rather than directly acquiring control of Baemin, but the deal structure has become more complicated because Uber, once cited as a strong partner candidate, has emerged as a major shareholder of Baemin's largest shareholder, Delivery Hero (DH).
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 20th, Naver is reviewing a plan to participate in the Baemin acquisition as a consortium and acquire the No. 2 shareholder equity.
However, Naver was not understood to have finalized Uber as a partner from the outset to review the acquisition. With Uber as well as U.S. DoorDash and China's Alibaba preparing to join the preliminary bidding, Naver is seen as keeping open the possibility of forming a consortium with multiple candidates for a control acquisition, not limited to Uber.
◇ Uber becomes DH's largest shareholder... transaction structure gets more complicated
Uber has long been assessed as the strongest candidate among those vying to acquire Baemin. Uber operates Uber Taxi in the domestic taxi-hailing market but trails Kakao T, and its food delivery service Uber Eats exited the Korean market in 2019. With a limited base for mobility and delivery platform businesses in Korea, there was said to be pressure at the headquarters level to rapidly elevate its market position by acquiring the No. 1 player.
In this situation, as Uber sharply increased its equity in DH, Baemin's parent company, the industry views that Uber's momentum to acquire Baemin has somewhat weakened. If it separately acquires the subsidiary while already holding a significant portion of the parent company's equity, it becomes a structure in which investment funds are redundantly deployed into the same asset class, which is inefficient.
The previous day, DH said Uber acquired 19.5% of all outstanding shares and also secured an option for an additional 5.6% equity. As a result, Uber became DH's single largest shareholder. The No. 2 shareholder is Prosus with 16.8%, and the No. 3 shareholder is Hong Kong-based activist fund Aspex Management (15%).
If Uber teams up with Naver to pursue the acquisition of Baemin, Uber would stand on the buyer's side while also being a major shareholder of the seller, DH. In effect, it would hold a dual position. Some interpret this as Uber gaining an advantage in the Baemin acquisition battle, but in practice it is seen as a factor that rather makes the transaction structure more complicated.
If Uber gives the impression of trying to secure a price or terms advantage in the Baemin acquisition process because it holds equity in DH, other DH shareholders could push back. An IB industry source said, "If Baemin, DH's core asset, is handed over to a consortium on the side of Uber, the single largest shareholder, on terms below market price, a serious conflict-of-interest controversy could erupt," and added, "From DH's perspective, it would try to prove the price appropriateness and the independence of the process more strictly than when selling to other bidders."
This is not limited to the possibility of backlash from DH shareholders. Given that DH is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany, if Uber steps in as a buyer, the transaction process itself could come under stricter scrutiny.
Under German listing rules, if a company conducts a transaction above a certain size with a related party, it may require supervisory board approval and be subject to disclosure. Whether it is a related party is judged based on factors such as holding "significant influence" under International Financial Reporting Standards, which includes holding 20% or more of voting equity.
Uber's DH equity stake is 19.5%, close to this threshold, and it also holds an option for an additional 5.6%. Therefore, if Uber pursues the Baemin acquisition, DH will bear the burden of more strictly proving whether the transaction price conforms to market terms and whether the sale process was conducted independently.
◇ Naver likely to form a consortium regardless of whether Uber joins
Regardless of whether Uber joins the Baemin acquisition race, Naver is widely seen as likely to participate by forming a consortium with a partner.
Naver's interest in acquiring Baemin is seen as stemming from platform linkage effects. If Baemin's network of restaurants and local shops, order data, and ad products are linked with Naver's search, maps, reservations, Pay, membership, and commerce, it can bolster competitiveness as a local life platform. Rather than shouldering a trillion-won-class acquisition burden alone, forming a consortium with a deep-pocketed global company to secure a minority equity stake is seen as a more realistic approach.
If what Naver wants is not control of Baemin but a minority stake and platform linkage, the consortium partner does not have to be Uber. A financial investor (FI) or another strategic investor (SI) without DH equity could acquire the controlling stake, and Naver could participate as the No. 2 shareholder, which could make the transaction structure simpler.