This article was published on May 9, 2025, at 4:29 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Private equity fund (PEF) management company VIG Partners is in the process of acquiring shares from Kakao Mobility's financial investors (FI), with the equity structure reportedly taking shape. The existing largest shareholder, Kakao, is positioned to sell nearly 10% of its shares along with the FIs. VIG Partners is expected to become the second-largest shareholder, with slightly less equity than Kakao.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 9th, Kakao decided to sell slightly less than 10% of its 57.2% stake in Kakao Mobility. It will retain about 48% of its equity, selling the rest to VIG.
FIs holding tag-along rights are also said to be leaning towards selling all their equity. Currently, the FIs for Kakao Mobility include TPG Consortium (24.51%), Carlyle (6.17%), and Mobility Holdings (3.4%).
Adding the equity held by these FIs and the Kakao equity of less than 10%, the total reaches about 43–44%. Some strategic investors (SI) who made long-term investments are also reportedly hoping to sell alongside. The SIs include LG (2.46%), GS Caltex (0.61%), GS Energy (0.12%), Google (1.52%), and GS Retail (1.31%). Other minority shareholders hold 2.68%.
After this equity sale, Kakao is expected to remain the largest shareholder. Kakao is anticipated to retain around 48%, while VIG is expected to hold over 44%, coexisting as the first and second largest shareholders. However, due to the Qualified IPO requirements, if Kakao Mobility fails to achieve the target revenue within the set timeline, VIG may acquire some of Kakao's equity and gain management control.
Even if FIs and some SIs sell their equity this time, a minority of equity from SIs and other shareholders will remain. If shareholders opting to stay sell their equity to VIG, the equity stakes of Kakao and VIG could potentially reverse.
However, industry insiders explain that this would be difficult in reality. Kakao Mobility has granted a substantial amount of stock options to its employees. While the exact scale of the stock options has not been disclosed, it is said that if all granted stock options are converted into shares (full dilution), the equity stake of the largest shareholder, Kakao, could fall from 57.2% to 53.4%. Generally, if employees convert stock options into shares, it is classified as favorable equity for major shareholders.
Meanwhile, VIG's acquisition of Kakao Mobility equity is reported to have passed the nine-tenths mark. It is said that the Middle Eastern investor Mubadala and Goldman Sachs are nearing final decisions. An IB industry source noted, "Both are viewing this very positively, but I understand the process is getting delayed."