“Baedal Minjok” owner, Woowa Brothers, will take the name as one of the rare exit cases of early-stage ventures. The South Korean startup, founded in 2011, has a valuation reaching almost $4.3 billion (5 trillion won) in less than ten years. Companies invested in Woowa also gained a large sum of profit.
Baedal Minjok is an online food order and delivery platform developed by Woowa Brothers.
On December 13, Delivery Hero (DH) signed agreements with South Korea’s top food delivery app owner, Woowa Brothers, acquiring an 87 percent stake in the unicorn startup. The Germany-based online delivery service provider estimated the value of the Korean company at $4 billion (4.75 trillion won).
Woowa’s earliest venture capital partner, BonAngels, was recognized for its value of $257 million (299.3 billion won), equivalent to 6.3 percent share. BonAngels (CEO Simon Kang) made an initial investment of 300 million won ($258,000) eight years ago, which profited almost 1,000 times since.
Naver also gained an earnings of almost $189 million (221.2 billion won) from an investment made two years ago. The online platform saw the rise in the demand for AI speakers, investing $35 million (40.7 billion won) on Baedal Minjok in October 2017.
The online platform’s AI technology, in combination with Woowa’s small to medium business services, was a strategic move for both companies. At the time of the investment, Naver had a 5 percent share decreasing to 3.72 percent as new shares were issued.
Naver will receive $100 million (116.6 billion won) in cash from selling its 3.72 percent share equivalent to $189 million (221.2 billion won). The remaining $89 million (103.8 billion won) will convert to Delivery Hero’s share equivalent to 0.6 percent.
Aside from Naver and BonAngels, other significant investors such as Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital China, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and Altos Ventures also benefited greatly from the deal.
However, CEO Kim Bong Jin and other executives who hold the remaining 13 percent shares will transfer to Delivery Hero shares. Kim will become the CEO of Delivery Hero and Woowa Brothers’ joint venture (JV), “Woowa DH Asia,” expanding the food-tech business beyond Korea.
