The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 12th its plan to push the "2026 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activation support program."
The program supports expenses incurred during the M&A process, such as corporate valuation fees, to activate M&A by small and venture corporations, and connects related information provision with expert consulting.
This year, along with the existing support for corporate valuation expense support, new support was introduced for due diligence expenses and post-merger integration consulting expenses. The goal is to build a support system for the entire process from the M&A preparation stage to the post-integration stage.
First, corporations pursuing a sell-side transaction can receive support for 40% of the fees incurred for corporate valuation, up to a limit of 15 million won. For venture corporations, up to 60% is supported within a limit of 20 million won.
With due diligence expense support, acquiring corporations can reduce the burden of integrated legal, accounting, and tax due diligence expenses to check the financial and legal risks of the selling corporations during the M&A transaction process by up to 30 million won. When conducting due diligence by field (legal, accounting, tax), 50% of the expenses incurred can be supported up to a limit of 10 million won.
For corporations that conduct consulting to integrate organizational operating systems such as HR and finance after a merger, 50% of the expenses incurred will be supported up to a limit of 25 million won.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will accept applications for support through the "M&A Information Network" website starting on the 13th. It may close early if the budget is exhausted.
Kim Bong-deok, director general for venture policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "The expense burden incurred during the M&A process can be a major barrier for small and venture corporations," and added, "We hope that this expansion of support will allow corporations to pursue M&A stably."