CJ Freshway acquired a 27.5 percent stake in Marketboro, becoming its largest shareholder. The move is seen as part of a strategy to secure new growth engines in line with a digital shift as an offline-focused food ingredients distribution market moves online.

CJ Freshway disclosed on Feb. 5 that it signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire a stake in Marketboro. The target is a 27.5 percent stake, and the total acquisition price is 40.3 billion won.

Marketboro operates the Sikbom food ingredients distribution open-market platform and the Marketbom ordering and distribution management service. The company said Sikbom has about 220,000 cumulative registered users. Transaction value grew to 234.1 billion won in 2025 from about 20 billion won in 2022.

The company plans to supply more than 200,000 types of food ingredients listed on Sikbom through CJ Freshway's nationwide cold-chain logistics network.

Lee Geon-il (이건일), CEO of CJ Freshway, said the acquisition is expected to generate synergy if the company's logistics network combines with Marketboro's technology. Lee said, "We expect the combination of CJ Freshway's logistics network and Marketboro's technology optimized for the open market to bring vitality across the online market," and added, "We will create a healthy ecosystem where the platform operator, sellers and buyers can all grow together."