Germany's Delivery Hero given conditional OK for Korean acquisition
German food delivery service Delivery Hero received conditional approval from authorities to take over South Korean competitor Woowa on Monday, contingent upon the sale of a subsidiary.
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
The South Korean anti-trust authority KFTC announced that the Berlin-based company must first sell off its South Korean subsidiary Yogiyo before its planned takeover of Woowa is allowed to go ahead.
The KFTC based its decision on the fact that Yogiyo and Woowas would have a combined market share of 99.2 per cent, which could lead to higher fees for restaurants as well as harm customers and potentially shut other competitors out of the market. The decision is in line with a recommendation made by the relevant department in November.
Delivery Hero founder and CEO Niklas Ostberg had expressed "extreme surpise" at the recommendation in November, and he said at the time that he did not support the sale of his company's Korean business.
The German company announced its plans to purchase Woowa a year ago.
At the time, Woowa had one of the largest online food delivery services in South Korea with its Baedal Minjok brand.(dpa)
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