By Kwanwoo Jun


Kakaopay Corp.'s shares slumped Wednesday after media reports that major shareholder Alipay, the payment unit of Ant Group Co., is seeking to sell part of its stake.

Shares in the South Korean mobile-payment fintech company fell 16% to 89,000 won ($70.92) in morning trading, compared with the stock benchmark Kospi's 0.3% gain.

The share-price drop came as South Korean media reports on Wednesday said Alipay pushed to sell 5 million Kakaopay shares, or about one-tenth of its total stake, in a block deal.

Alipay held 51 million Kakaopay shares, or a 38.68% stake in the South Korean company, as of December 2021, according to Korean regulatory filings.

Ant Group wasn't immediately available for comment on the reported stake sale.

Kakaopay, an affiliate of mobile-internet giant Kakao Corp., went public in South Korea in November 2021 after raising $1.3 billion in an initial public offering.

Kakao Corp. operates the most popular messaging app in South Korea.


Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-07-22 2223ET