Uber Technologies are to invest over USD150 million in a joint venture and partnership with South Korea’s SK Telecom Co Ltd, reports reuters.com. The latter plans to split off its mobility business.
The maneuver is Uber’s most recent attempt to expand into a market where it has faced tough competition as well as opposition from taxi drivers and regulations that forced the company to halt using private cars for its ride-hailing service in 2015. The new joint venture will “create opportunities in the taxi-hailing market in Korea and explore new areas, including future mobility services,” the companies said in a joint statement.
Under the plan, SK Telecom will split off its mobility services including satellite navigation and taxi-hailing into a new company called T Map Mobility, which Uber would then back with a direct investment of USD50 million and another USD100 million in a joint venture structure, the companies explained.
Subject to regulatory approval, this partnership should begin operations in the first half of 2021, the statement added. Uber will own 51% of the joint venture, while SK Telecom the remaining 49%.
SKT said it expected T Map Mobility, valued at about 1 trillion Won, to grow into a company worth 4.5 trillion Won by 2025.
More information
https://www.sktelecom.com/index_en.html
https://www.sktelecom.com/index_en.html
(News Source: https://uk.reuters.com)