EU Resumes Merger Review of Hyundai Heavy-Daewoo Shipbuilding Halted by COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyeon-jin] The European Union (EU) Commission announced on the 3rd (local time) that it has resumed the review of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group's acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, which had been temporarily suspended due to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The EU Commission disclosed this fact on its website on the same day and decided to conduct the review until September 3. The EU Commission had announced on March 31 that it would suspend the review due to difficulties in collecting related materials amid the spread of COVID-19.

Earlier, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group submitted the formal application for the merger review with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to the EU Competition Commission on November 12 last year. After a preliminary Phase 1 review, the EU has been conducting an in-depth review since December last year. The deadline for the in-depth review was originally set for July but was postponed by about two months due to the impact of COVID-19.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has been undergoing formal merger reviews in six countries, starting with the Korea Fair Trade Commission in July last year. It received the first approval in Kazakhstan in October last year and has also submitted merger review applications in China, Singapore, and other countries.

Once all countries complete their merger reviews, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and the Korea Development Bank will exchange shares of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, which they mutually hold, and complete the acquisition procedure of Daewoo Shipbuilding.