SK Telecom (SKT) rubbished South Korean media articles stating Amazon was preparing to acquire a 30 per cent stake in its e-commerce unit 11st, Yonhap News Agency reported.

A representative told the newspaper there are no discussions regarding Amazon exercising a right to acquire the stake, a stipulation included in a partnership agreed in late 2020.

The deal gave Amazon the right to acquire a minority stake in the unit through new preferred shares if certain business performance conditions are met or an IPO is launched.

SKT holds an 80 per cent stake in 11st. Yonhap News Agency reported it is working towards conducting an IPO in 2022.

The operator representative told Yonhap News Agency SKT and Amazon are still working towards offering 11st customers access to the US e-commerce giant’s products and services as part of their partnership agreement.

In mid-April SKT revealed plans for an equity spin-off of its e-commerce and semiconductor operations.