LG Corp. invests ￦100 billion in Kakao Mobility

[KAKAO MOBILITY]

LG Corp. has invested 100 billion won ($88 million) in Kakao Mobility, the companies said Friday.

For the deal, Kakao Mobility issued 1.56 million new shares which LG Corp. purchased at 63,770 won per share, according to Kakao's public filing.

In exchange, LG Corp. will take away 2.5 percent of the private company.

The Kakao subsidiary offers transportation-related services such as cab hailing, navigation and providing real-time information for public transport.

LG Corp, explained that its latest investment in Kakao Mobility was aimed to establish a partnership in developing businesses where the two can profit together.

“We plan to develop new businesses by combining Kakao Mobility’s expertise in IT platforms and LG’s technology in batteries and auto components,” LG said.

A common ground of interest cited in their statement is electric vehicles (EVs). Kakao Mobility plans to expand the adoption of ecofriendly vehicles across its services.

LG Group, on the other hand, has subsidiaries that are deeply involved in EV production. LG Energy Solution is Korea’s largest EV battery supplier. LG Electronics has been heavily investing in EV parts and is also developing software for EV chargers.

The conglomerate group said the partnership with Kakao Mobility will help it increase an understanding of mobility platform users.

LG Energy Solution has recently been pushing efforts to develop “Battery as a Service” businesses, which at include offering charging, maintaining or swapping batteries.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]