In response to the government's rejection of the business combination between Lotte Rental and SK Rent-a-Car, the No. 1 and No. 2 companies in the rental car market, Affinity Equity Partners, the largest shareholder of SK Rent-a-Car, said it would "review a variety of options, including additional proposals."
Affinity issued a brief statement on the 26th, saying it "respects the intent of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s business combination review outcome."
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on the day announced it would prohibit Affinity, which owns SK Rent-a-Car, from acquiring 63.5% equity in Lotte Rental. The reason was that if SK Rent-a-Car and Lotte Rental were combined, their dominance in the rental car market would become excessively large, raising serious concerns about restricting competition.
Affinity previously acquired SK Rent-a-Car, the No. 2 player in the rental car market, in 2024. Then in Mar. last year, it signed a stock transfer agreement to acquire management control of Lotte Rental, filed a business combination report with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), and has been awaiting the result.
Affinity explained that "after receiving the final written decision, we will closely review the specific findings and intent, and through consultations with Lotte Group, we plan to consider a variety of options, including whether additional proposals are possible, in a direction that can address the FTC's concerns—particularly the potential strengthening of market dominance."