Hyundai Seeks EU's Ok to Acquire Daewoo

South Korea’s leading shipbuilding conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group has submitted an application to the European Union for approval for its takeover of the compatriot shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).

According a Yonhap report,  HHI informed that the submission will be reviewed by anti-trust authorities at the European Commission, expecting the results of their call in 2020.

Hyundai Heavy has been taking prerequisite steps since April to apply for the EU’s mergers and acquisitions approval.

In March, Hyundai Heavy signed a formal deal, worth an estimated 2 trillion won (US$1.7 billion) to buy its smaller local rival from the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB). The policy lender is the largest shareholder of Daewoo Shipbuilding, with a controlling 55.7 percent stake.

Winning regulatory approval from domestic and foreign corporate regulators is a key hurdle facing Hyundai Heavy's bid to complete the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding, since the tie-up of the two major shipyards could reshape the global shipbuilding landscape with their dominant market position.

An objection from one country or the EU could derail the takeover.

Two weeks ago, Kazakhstan’s antitrust regulator has approved the takeover. HHIsaid it recently received the approval notification from the Kazakh Committee on the Protection and Development of Competition of the Ministry of National Economy.

Hyundai Heavy said its acquisition deal is currently being reviewed by antitrust regulators in South Korea, Japan, China and Singapore.