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Delivery Hero has started to distribute information memorandum (IM) to potential buyers for its South Korean unit, Yogiyo. Multiple domestic strategic investors and private equity (PE) firms at home and abroad have signed non-disclosure agreement and received IM.

Morgan Stanley, which manages the sale process, recently started to send out IM to prospective buyers, including domestic and foreign PE firms and some conglomerates, industry sources said on Wednesday. Retail giants Lotte Group, Shinsegae Group, GS Group and online accommodation service platform Yalnolja have reportedly received IMs. Financial investors, including MBK Partners, TPG, CVC Capital, and Affinity Equity Partners are also considering participating in the race.

Retail giants have been mentioned as potential buyers since Delivery Hero put Yogiyo on the market. Retail conglomerates which have focused on offline business are striving to acquire delivery companies in a bid to beef up their online businesses.

Global buyout funds which could afford the deal worth multi-trillion won are also likely to join the race. TPG is considering bidding for the food delivery app to create synergy with Kakao Mobility, while CVC Capital wants to create synergy with its portfolio company Good Choice, a hotel reservation platform. Affinity Equity Partners, which owns shares of Shinseage Group's SSG.com, may also join the race.

Market insiders were surprised by the Yanolja’s interest in Yogiyo. The accommodation booking platform is reportedly considering buying the company to boost its enterprise value ahead of its planned initial public offering.

Delivery Hero said it will exclude potential rivals including Kakao and Coupang from the deal as their takeover of Yogiyo might counter the market dominance of Baedal Minjok, which the German company acquired earlier this year.

South Korea’s delivery platform market is estimated at around 11 trillion won ($9.8 billion). Yogiyo's market share of 20% by transaction value is considered to be highly attractive amid positive industry outlook. Yogiyo swung to a profit last year, recording earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 47 billion won, according to the company’s teaser letter. Its accumulated loss decreased from 70 billion won to 10 billion won.

Delivery Hero is reportedly seeking to sell its South Korean unit for around 2 trillion won, while prospective buyers want to buy it for around 1 trillion won. The valuation gap is expected to be narrowed during the sale process.

The seller may want to sell Yogiyo to a PE firm to defend its position from competitors as PE firms are more likely to focus on improving profitability rather than pursuing market dominance.

Foreign investors are also more likely to offer higher prices compared to domestic ones. It is said global PE firms are most actively preparing for the bidding. (Reporting by Si-eun Park)