Hyundai Oilbank Advances to 2nd Place in Gas Station Industry After 21 Years

Fair Trade Commission Approves Hyundai's Acquisition of SK Networks Gas Station Operations

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced on the 29th that it approved Hyundai Oilbank's acquisition of SK Networks' business on the 28th. Going forward, Hyundai Oilbank will operate 306 SK Networks directly managed gas stations. In terms of the number of gas stations, it surpassed GS Caltex for the first time in 21 years to rise to second place.

The KFTC responded that this corporate merger does not raise concerns about restricting competition in the petroleum product retail market, where both companies operate. Since consumer sentiment of local residents is important in the gas station industry, the evaluation was conducted by delineating the geography of 229 basic local government units (cities, counties, and districts) nationwide.

They considered factors such as the presence of multiple competing gas stations in all regions, consumers being able to check gas station prices in real time, and the existence of budget gas stations selling petroleum products at relatively low prices. Therefore, it was judged that the merged company would not substantially restrict competition in the petroleum product retail market through gas stations.

Lee Soong-gyu, head of the KFTC's Corporate Merger Division, said, "The KFTC conducted a swift review of the corporate merger considering the market situation of the refining industry, which is experiencing a recession due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic and oil price collapse. Going forward, the KFTC will continue to conduct thorough corporate merger reviews while expediting reviews of restructuring-type mergers to create a foundation for revitalizing related markets."

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