Strengthening Platform
SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom Co., will transform into a commerce platform company by merging with Commerce Planet, which runs the e-commerce site 11st Street. Also, the company will spin off its application store “T-Store” to build it into a mobile content platform company.
The transformation into the platform company, which has been advocated by SK Telecom, will materialize through the reorganization of the subsidiary. It is believed that the company plans to spin SK Planet off into three specialized platform companies and foster them as the power of transformation in earnest.
SK Planet announced that it has decided to merge with Commerce Planet at a board meeting on Dec. 29. In addition, it will push ahead with a spin-off, including a platform business and T-Store.
T-Store, which will be launched as a separate company, plans to enter into a partnership with leading companies at home and abroad to expand its power in the mobile content market at home and abroad.
A SK Planet official said, “SK Planet has led the O2O market by introducing new services in the market, and 11st Street has also changed the paradigm of the market with mobile-based services. Stepping out of the domestic market, we will compete with various companies overseas and make a new leap forward as a global commerce company.”
SK Telecom is taking a similar move with Google. Earlier, Google created a new public holding company, Alphabet Inc. Alphabet was created to restructure Google by moving subsidiaries from Google to Alphabet in order for subsidiaries to become specialized companies with competitiveness. The reorganization of SK Telecom shows its will to transform into a platform company that can match Google.
The new platform company will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of SK Telecom. It aims to serve as the core engine in a platform of life value.
SK Telecom, which is currently strengthening its media platform capabilities with the takeover of CJ Hellovision, the country's biggest operator of cable channels and Internet TV content, is planning to secure a new growth engine for the platform of life value with the business restructuring of SK Planet.
An industry source said, “With the reorganization of SK Telecom and SK Planet, the vague platform business is gradually materializing. We expect a new business, which can emerge from stagnation, and business reshuffle, which can expand the existing business.”