Kakao Mobility CEO asks for suspension of share sale talks

A Kakao T taxi [YONHAP]

Kakao Mobility has asked its majority shareholder not to sell a stake in the transportation and taxi hailing company to a private equity firm.

Ryu Gung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, said in an internal notice on Monday that he "asked for a halt to discussions of a stock sale deal," according to the company's union.

Kakao, which owns 57.5 percent of Kakao Mobility, has been considering a sale of about 10 to 19 percent of the company. MBK Partners, a local private equity firm, was reported to be a potential buyer.

Ryu suggested setting up a consultative body between employees and management to discuss the issue, putting the proposal forward to Kakao's Corporate Alignment Center. The Corporate Alignment Center oversees the operation of Kakao subsidiaries.

The Corporate Alignment Center acknowledged the proposal, promising to cooperate in solving the issue.

"It is not an easy choice for Kakao to forgo its control over the company, but it's necessary for the growth of Kakao Mobility," said Kakao Chairman Kim Sung-soo during an online conference with employees on July 18.

Kakao Mobility employees welcomed the about-face.

"We support and welcome the proposal to discuss ways for Kakao Mobility to grow together with society," said Seo Seung-wook, who represents the unionized workers of Kakao in a release Monday.

Tensions has been rising over a possible sale. More than half of Kakao Mobility employees joined the labor union since the potential deal was made known by Ryu in June, which had only about 35 members in January.

The unionized workers have been picketing in Pangyo, Gyeonggi, where the company's office building is located, and participated in a rally against the company's sale to MBK Partners.

Kakao Mobility began its Kakao T taxi-hailing service in 2015 and split it off from Kakao in 2017. The original plan was to list it sometime this year, but a weak market and negative sentiment about Kakao and related companies make the offering difficult.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]