World No. 1 shipbuilding group Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings’ US$1.8 billion merger with rival Daewoo could inflate prices, EU antitrust regulators warned on Tuesday, December 17, as they opened a full-scale investigation.
According to Reuters, Hyundai is seeking to reinforce its position as the world’s biggest shipbuilder partly in response to overcapacity in the industry. The merged company would have a 21% market share,
The European Commission stated it had serious concerns about the deal, confirming a Reuters story on December 9.
“Cargo shipbuilding is an important industry for the European Union,” Margrethe Vestager, vice president of the European Commission, said in a statement.
Much of the EU’s internal and extend freight trade went by sea and European shipping companies regularly purchased vessels from Hyundai and Daewoo.
Full Content: Reuters
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