Chemicals-To-Retail Conglomerate Lotte To Buy $150 Million Stake In Korean Car-Sharing Unicorn Startup

Lotte Rental, the rental car unit of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group, said on Monday it is acquiring a 13.9% stake in car-sharing unicorn startup Socar for 183 billion won (about $150 million).

The investment aims to “strengthen the synergy of the integrated mobility service platform,” Lotte Rental said in a regulatory filing with South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service. “Through the investment in Socar, we can be reborn as an integrated mobility platform based on automobiles,” local newspaper Chosun Ilbo quoted Lotte Rental CEO Kim Hyun-soo as saying.

Socar was founded in 2011 by Lee Jae-woong, who in 1995 cofounded web portal operator Daum Communications, one of the earliest internet companies in South Korea; Daum merged into Korean internet giant Kakao in 2014. Socar’s investors include Korean billionaire Chey Tae-won’s SK conglomerate, Bain Capital and Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Ventures Asia. In January, the startup filed for an initial public offering on the Korea Exchange.

Kim added that the two companies plan to prioritize areas where synergies can be created, such as vehicle maintenance, vehicle management, car washing, business-to-customer sales of used cars, and micro-mobility. The two companies will jointly build an ecosystem for future mobility business, such as electric vehicles, parking and charging stations for electric cars, and autonomous driving. There are also collaboration opportunities with the broader Lotte Group in logistics, memberships and innovative services.

“We plan to enhance the driving experience and provide a differentiated customer experience through the strategic collaboration with Socar, which possesses the highest level of mobility information technology in Korea, such as the capabilities of car rental and asset management, and mobility and user data analysis,” Chosun Ilbo quoted a Lotte Rental official as saying.

Lotte Group is led by chairman Shin Dong-bin and is best known for its department stores and chocolate snacks. In recent years, Lotte has been focusing on growing its chemicals business. In November, Lotte joined a consortium that plans to develop urban air mobility technology in South Korea.