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 told the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) it would resell SK Rent-a-Car to secure approval for its acquisition of Lotte Rental, but the commission is understood to have responded negatively. The view is that it is difficult to reverse a conclusion with a belated acceptance of conditions after a decision to block the merger was already made because Affinity did not accept the condition to sell SK Rent-a-Car.
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 instead of 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 broader 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 centered on the sale of SK Rent-a-Car. The official was quoted as saying in effect, "Once a decision to block is made, isn't that the end?"
According to the industry, to complete the acquisition of Lotte Rental, Affinity decided to resell SK Rent-a-Car and discussed concrete plans with stakeholders until recently. Because a quick sale of SK Rent-a-Car would inevitably require cutting the price by up to several hundred billion won, Affinity was said to be seeking to lower the purchase price for Lotte Rental to offset the loss.
Despite these efforts by Affinity, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) reacted negatively, which is seen as being because Affinity had already once rejected the commission's demand for structural remedies.
Initially, during the review of the corporate combination between Lotte Rental and SK Rent-a-Car, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) demanded the sale of SK Rent-a-Car to address concerns about monopoly in the long-term rental car market, but Affinity did not accept it.
Affinity's latest move differs from cases in which corporations previously won conditional approval for mergers from the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC). A representative example is the 2022 conditional approval for the combination of Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines. Before the commission's final decision, Korean Air Lines accepted remedies during deliberations, agreeing to conditions such as the transfer of slots and traffic rights on overlapping routes, limits on fare increases, and a ban on supply cuts.
When Delivery Hero (DH) acquired Baemin in 2020, DH also went through a phase 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 operator in Korea, and as a result was able to buy No. 1 Baemin.
Unlike Korean Air Lines or Delivery Hero, Affinity submitted remedies after a decision of "disallowance" had already been finalized. Legally, this is fully possible. A party dissatisfied with a Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) disposition may file an objection with grounds within 30 days from the date the written decision is served, and may also newly refile for a corporate combination.
However, in this case, because Affinity's rejection of the structural remedies previously proposed by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) led to the disallowance, analysts say the likelihood the commission will reverse course and approve the merger is not high. An industry official said, "If Affinity now says, 'We will implement the conditions we refused at the time, so please change the decision,' from the commission's perspective it can look like ignoring administrative procedure."
Lotte Group is in a bind. It has become inevitable to partner with a different buyer instead of Affinity, but to do so it must sharply lower expectations and push for a resale. It will even take considerable time because the sale process has to start over from scratch. Affinity had agreed to acquire Lotte Rental shares at 77,115 won per share. Lotte Group was to secure a management control premium of more than 160% over the then-market price (29,000 won). The current share price is fluctuating in the 33,000-won range.
The market view is that there are limited new bidders who will jump into the Lotte Rental sale. 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 operating rental car businesses will find it difficult to acquire, and only financial investors (FI) like private equity funds will be able to consider it."
Meanwhile, Affinity said it is continuing discussions with Lotte Group regarding the acquisition of Lotte Rental, but nothing has been decided at this time.