이 기사는 2022년 02월 23일 07시44분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s Kakao Mobility is merging with four software startups that the company previously acquired, a move aimed at enhancing technology and absorbing talent rather than growing its scale.

High-definition mapping startup Stryx and digital signage firm Plus TV were merged into Kakao Mobility in December last year, while the company’s mergers with one-day delivery service provider Today Pickup and on-foot delivery startup MG Playing is expected to complete in March.

All of the four startups are already wholly owned by Kakao Mobility. Stryx and Plus TV were purchased in 2021 for 8 billion won ($6.7 million) each. The Today Pickup and MG Playing acquisitions recently closed with the financial details undisclosed.

The four companies are small in size. Stryx and Plus TV made 1.16 billion won and 1.53 billion won respectively in revenue in their latest fiscal year. Both Today Pickup and MG Playing record annual revenue of less than 100 million won.

After the merger, Stryx’s staff joined Kakao Mobility as members of a new team for digital twin manufacturing. A digital twin, one of the key technologies for autonomous driving, is a virtual world that emulates the real world. The new team, led by led by Stryx’s founder, will be responsible for developing HD digital maps.

It is likely that employees of the other three companies will also comprise Kakao Mobility’s new teams.

“Plus TV is working on developing a strategy for digital signage services,” A Kakao Mobility representative said. “Nothing has been finalized on organizational changes related to Today Pickup and MG Playing as the mergers are yet to be completed.”

The recent move is rare for Kakao Mobility, which has pursued acquisitions far more actively than mergers since its foundation in 2017. It has acquired target companies through its wholly owned subsidiaries to expand its business in areas like taxi-hailing, designated drivers and parking services.

Kakao Mobility apparently thought that a merger is a better option to maximize synergies with a startup with expertise in software, some observers said. Others called the four companies being “acqhired,” meaning the mergers are focused on talent acquisitions.

Today Pickup and MG Playing both provide B2B delivery services and target customers in the last-mile market. Today Pickup delivers goods in the same day or overnight, while MG Playing offers a short-distance, on-foot delivery service through its application Dobo60.

“Kakao Mobility has grown in size through acquisitions in the past years, but now it seems to more focus on gaining technology and talent,” an industry insider said. “Additionally, the company obviously wanted to reduce the number of its subsidiaries due to criticism over aggressive expansion of Kakao’s affiliates overall.” (Reporting by Seul-gi Kim)