Merger reviews hit record high in H1 with 424 cases worth $125.5 bn
Soo-young Seong
Aug 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
The number of merger reviews has hit a record high in Korea for the first half of the year, with 424 filings made to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) valued around $125.5 billion. Of these, 356 cases were led by domestic companies, and 68 cases were led by foreign companies.
This is a 21.5% increase compared to the 349 merger reviews from the first half of 2019. The surge in merger filings could be attributed to companies speeding up restructuring amid the global pandemic, alongside private equity funds actively engaging in M&A deals to secure the next growth areas for their businesses.
Private equity firms accounted for 52 merger cases, a 41% increase from 37 deals during the first half of 2019.
Investment companies and PEFs accounted for six of the top 10 merger review cases in terms of the deal amount.
A merger review is when a country's antitrust regulator reviews an M&A deal to ensure that it does not violate antitrust law or raise anti-competition concerns. Each jurisdiction has a set of conditions which may require deals to be reviewed before they are finalized.