As Yonhap reports, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group issued an application to the European Union, waiting for approval for its proposed takeover of local Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co.
Accordingly, the company informed that the submission will be reviewed by anti-trust authorities at the European Commission, expecting the results of their call in 2020.
The shipbuilder has been taking many steps for the long awaited merge, facing many challenges. That is why, the announcement of the forthcoming merger between the two most major South Korean shipbuilders made headlines in 2019. Prior to that, the announcement of a planned merger between the two major Chinese shipbuilders, China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. and China State Shipbuilding Corp., came as the latest in a row of mergers of state-owned businesses in the country.
Overall, the two mergers, the South Korean one and the Chinese will result to the control of the whole, global shipbuilding industry, expected to control about the 46% of the global market among the world’s top 10 yards.
Except the EU, the acquisition deal is being reviewed by additional antitrust regulators in South Korea, Japan, China and Singapore. Yet, Yonhap reports that Hyundai’s merger plans have already been approved by Kazakhstan.
Concluding, when the merger plan is approved, the South Korean shipbuilder will include four shipyards; Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
