Hyundai Sues the EU Over a Shipbuilding Merger Rejection
South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries announced that it has filed a legal challenge to the European Commission’s decision earlier this year to block the planned merger of its shipbuilding operations with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Confirmation of the lawsuit came however as Hyundai said it looks to move forward with a new business plan for the group and that it did not intend to re-bid on DSME even if the shipyards are again put up for sale.
The European Commission early in January confirmed its opposition to the proposed acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering by Hyundai Heavy Industries announcing that it had “prohibited” the South Korean shipbuilders from merging under the EU Merger Regulation. While they could not officially stop the merger, the EU regulators could impose tariffs against the company effectively stopping them from doing business with EU companies. They cited concerns over market dominance in the construction of large LNG carriers in particular. It marketed only the tenth time the EC said that it had rejected a proposed merger in over 3,000 transactions it had reviewed.
