이 기사는 2021년 03월 12일 07시42분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Affirma Capital and EastBridge Partners, the only two firms left in the race for a minority stake in T Map Mobility, may join hands for the acquisition, with the results of the final round of bidding expected this week.

SK Telecom and sale manager SC Securities are preparing to make the final decision to pick the preferred bidder for T Map Mobility by the end of this week, industry sources said on Wednesday (March 10).

Affirma Capital and EastBridge Partners submitted binding offers on March 4 for a minority stake in T Map Mobility along with IMM Private Equity, which later decided to pull out.

Many industry insiders said there is the possibility that the two PE firms that have looked into the target may offer a joint acquisition plan to SK Telecom at the last minute.

Such scenario could be realistic as SK Telecom is said to be fairly flexible towards various options in an attempt to proceed with its planned fundraising.

If Affirma Capital and EastBridge Partners make joint investments, each firm is expected to invest 150 billion won of the pre-initial public offering worth a combined 300 billion.

T Map Mobility was spun off from SK Telecom in December last year as part of efforts by the telco to expand its platform services in the fast-growing mobility market.

SK Telecom and Uber announced a joint venture in October, which was approved by the Korea Fair Trade Commission in February and is expected to be operational in April. The U.S. ride-hailing giant agreed to put $100 million into the joint venture and $50 million into T Map Mobility in a deal that valued the mobility unit at 1 trillion won ($887.3 million).

There was little room for price negotiation, which made the investment less attractive. T Map Mobility made it clear that it wants investors to use the 1 trillion won valuation, which was set in the transaction with Uber, as a reference.

The two prospective buyers conducted a thorough due diligence on the company and they are said to be still keen to invest in the company. (Reporting by Hee-yeon Han)