This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 8:33 a.m. on Apr. 22, 2026.
Global private equity (PE) firm Affinity Equity Partners recently conveyed to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) that it would resell SK Rent-a-Car to obtain approval for acquiring Lotte Rental, but the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) was understood to have shown a negative response. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) already issued a decision not to approve the business combination because Affinity did not accept the condition to sell SK Rent-a-Car, and it said it would be difficult to change the conclusion merely because the condition was accepted belatedly.
This has also tangled the situation for Lotte Group. Because it is unlikely to sway the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), selling Lotte Rental to a third party rather than Affinity has become inevitable, but in that case, it could take about another year to close the transaction.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry and the business community on the 22nd, a senior official at the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) effectively expressed an intention to reject Affinity's voluntary remedy plan centered on selling SK Rent-a-Car. The official was said to have remarked to the effect of, "Once a non-approval decision is made, isn't that the end?"
According to the industry, Affinity decided to resell SK Rent-a-Car to complete the acquisition of Lotte Rental and discussed concrete plans with stakeholders until recently. Because rapidly selling SK Rent-a-Car would inevitably require cutting the price by up to several hundred billion won, Affinity was said to have sought to lower the purchase price of Lotte Rental to offset the loss.
Despite Affinity's efforts, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) was seen as reacting negatively because Affinity had already once rejected the commission's demand for structural remedies.
Initially, during its review of the business combination between Lotte Rental and SK Rent-a-Car, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) demanded the sale of SK Rent-a-Car to allay monopoly concerns in the long-term rental car market, but Affinity reportedly did not accept it.
Affinity's latest move differs from cases of corporations that previously secured conditional approval for business combinations from the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC). A representative example is the 2022 conditional merger approval for Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines. Before the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) issued its final decision, Korean Air Lines accepted remedies during the deliberation process, agreeing to conditions such as the transfer of slots and traffic rights on overlapping routes, restrictions on fare hikes, and a ban on reducing supply.
When Delivery Hero (DH) acquired Baemin in 2020, DH also went through a step of accepting remedies before the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) issued its final decision. At the time, DH took the drastic step of selling Yogiyo, then the No. 2 food delivery service in Korea, and as a result was able to buy No. 1 Baemin.
Unlike Korean Air Lines or Delivery Hero, Affinity presented its remedy plan after a "non-approval" disposition had already been finalized. This is fully possible legally. A party dissatisfied with a Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) disposition may file an objection with reasons within 30 days from the date the written decision is served, and may also newly refile the business combination.
However, in this case, because Affinity's refusal of the structural remedies previously proposed by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) led to the non-approval decision, analysis suggests the likelihood is low that the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will change course and approve the business combination. An industry source said, "If Affinity now says, 'We will carry out the conditions we rejected at the time, so please change the decision,' it can appear to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) as an act that disregards administrative procedure."
The situation has become tangled for Lotte Group. It has become inevitable to partner with a buyer other than Affinity, but to do so it would have to greatly lower expectations and push for a resale. It would even take considerable time because the sale process would have to start over from scratch. Affinity had agreed to acquire Lotte Rental shares at 77,115 won per share. Lotte Group had agreed to take a management control premium of more than 160% compared with the then market price (29,000 won). The current share price is fluctuating in the 33,000-won range.
The market also views the pool of new bidders to jump into the Lotte Rental sale as limited. An IB industry official said, "In particular, long-term rental car companies strongly objected to the combination of the No. 1 and No. 2 players, Lotte Rental and SK Rent-a-Car, and I understand that influenced the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) decision," adding, "Considering that, strategic investors (SI) such as large corporations already running rental car businesses will find it difficult to acquire, and only financial investors (FI) such as private equity funds will be able to consider it."