"Let's Secure New Food Sources"... 83 Cases of 'Non-Affiliated Company Mergers' Increased in the First Half of This Year

Fair Trade Commission, Trends in Corporate Mergers in the First Half of 2020

Domestic Companies' 'Non-affiliate Mergers' 194 Cases → 277 Cases · 'Affiliate Mergers' 76 Cases → 79 Cases
Mergers by Foreign Companies Decrease in Both Number and Amount

Trends in the Number and Amount of Corporate Merger Reviews in the First Half of the Last 5 Years.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] It has been revealed that the number of 'non-affiliate mergers' by domestic companies significantly increased in the first half of this year for reasons such as securing growth engines.

On the 13th, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced the '2020 First Half Corporate Merger Trends' containing this information.

According to this, the number of corporate mergers reviewed by the KFTC in the first half was 424 cases, with an amount of 148.7 trillion KRW. Compared to the first half of last year, the number of cases increased by 75, but the amount decreased by 53.2 trillion KRW.

Mergers by domestic companies increased by 86 cases (270 → 356 cases) and by 6.1 trillion KRW (12.7 trillion → 18.8 trillion KRW) in amount compared to the first half of last year.

The number of affiliate mergers, which signify business structure reorganization, increased by 3 cases from 76 to 79, but the amount decreased by 3.5 trillion KRW from 4.4 trillion KRW to 900 billion KRW. The proportion of 'affiliate mergers' in total mergers by domestic companies was 22.2%, the lowest in the past five years.

The number of mergers with non-affiliates increased by 83 cases (194 → 277 cases), and the amount increased by 9.6 trillion KRW (8.3 trillion → 17.9 trillion KRW). The number of 'non-affiliate mergers' by domestic companies has been increasing over the past five years. The KFTC identified a trend of increasing joint venture establishment methods in mergers with non-affiliates.

Mergers by publicly disclosed business groups with assets over 5 trillion KRW increased by 28 cases (77 → 105 cases) and by 4.7 trillion KRW (4.2 trillion → 8.9 trillion KRW) in amount compared to the first half of last year. In mergers by large business groups, the proportions of mergers using business transfers and mergers were relatively high at 12.4% and 17.1%, respectively. Mergers with non-affiliates by companies belonging to large business groups increased by 28 cases (47 → 75 cases) and by 7.7 trillion KRW (700 billion → 8.4 trillion KRW), showing active activity.

Mergers by foreign companies amounted to 68 cases and 129.8 trillion KRW, decreasing by 11 cases (79 → 68 cases) and 59.4 trillion KRW (189.2 trillion → 129.8 trillion KRW) compared to the first half of last year.