South Korea's Fair Trade Commission announced on January 26 that it has blocked a Singapore-based private equity fund from acquiring the country's largest vehicle rental company, Lotte Rental, due to concerns over restricted market competition. The fund already owns SK Rent-a-Car, the nation's second-largest operator, and the deal would consolidate the top two firms under one entity. The commission highlighted potential anti-competitive effects in both short-term and long-term rental markets.
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on January 26 prohibited Careena Transportation Group Ltd., controlled by Singapore-based private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, from acquiring a 63.5 percent stake in Lotte Rental Co. The decision stems from fears that the deal would place the nation's top two car rental companies under the same private equity firm's control, heightening market concentration.
Lee Byung-geon, head of the FTC's mergers and acquisitions review bureau, announced the results at the Government Complex in Sejong, stating, "It is determined that there is a significant risk of substantially restricting competition, including possible price increases in the domestic rental car market, and therefore imposed a prohibition on the merger." According to the FTC, the two companies held 29.3 percent of the short-term rental market (less than one year) on the mainland and 21.3 percent on Jeju Island as of the end of 2024, with most competitors being small operators. In the long-term rental market (over one year), their combined share has hovered around 30 percent for the past five years, reaching 38.3 percent by late 2024 and showing an upward trend.
The commission warned that eliminating competition between these leading firms could lead to anti-competitive effects, such as higher rental fees. It also positioned the ruling as a strong signal against private equity-led mergers that consolidate market power rapidly for resale at higher valuations, distorting fair competition. Both sources consistently report these details from the announcement in Seoul and Sejong on January 26, 2026.
