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[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Korean Air, which is trying to merge with Asiana Airlines, is expected to undergo a high-intensity additional review in the European approval process for the merger.
On the 10th, the European Union (EU) is likely to begin the second phase of the review on the business combination between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. Korean Air submitted a business combination report to the EU on the 13th of last month, two years after prior consultation with the EU, an essential reporting country for mergers and acquisitions. The EU will announce the results of its review on the 17th.
When a business combination report is officially submitted, the EU usually conducts a first-phase review to determine market competition restrictions and monopoly for 35 days. If the results come out on the 17th, Korean Air expected the merger to be approved only by the first phase of the review. However, after the EU announces the results of the first phase of the screening, it is expected to proceed with the second phase of additional screening.
The EU is expected to conduct a full-scale anti-trust investigation into Korean Air's plan to acquire and merge Asiana Airlines during the second phase of the review. This is because there are concerns about market dominance when the two airlines merge.
The results of the first-phase review that comes out on the 17th may approve the merger, but if the EU deems it necessary to supplement the correction plan, the second-phase review will be carried out.
AlphaBIZ 김지선(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
