South Korean travel tech startup Yanolja has acquired a 70% stake in a listed South Korean e-commerce pioneer, Interpark, for about $250 million.
The company plans to use the acquisition to make further inroads into the overseas tourism industry. Interpark offers online travel booking services and international shipping to more than 230 countries, and targets Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese-speaking customers.
Foreign travel tech platforms dominate the international tourism industry, but Yanolja is hoping to compete by scaling up, and building a “super app”, incorporating more of the lifestyle services that Interpark has built over the years alongside Yanolja’s current services, which include booking hotels, cars and related travel experiences. Interpark’s services cover shopping, restaurant reservations, travel tickets, attractions and live performances, a spokesperson at Yanolja told TechCrunch.
The acquisition comes on the heels of Yanolja raising $1.7 billion from SoftBank…