Fair trade watchdog approves NS Shopping's takeover of Homeplus Express

Korea's antitrust watchdog on Friday approved NS Shopping's takeover of the compact-format supermarket chain Homeplus Express, saying the deal is unlikely to hinder fair competition in the market. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) made the ruling after NS Shopping, an affiliate of Harim, Korea's largest poultry-processing company, announced its plan to acquire Homeplus Express from Homeplus in a deal estimated at 120.6 billion won ($79.3 million). Homeplus Express is the super supermarket (SSM) brand of Homeplus. The FTC said it had reviewed the deal as involving 11 vertical mergers and two conglomerate mergers. A vertical merger occurs when companies operate at different stages of the same supply chain within an industry, while a conglomerate merger occurs between businesses in different industries. The watchdog said it had determined that concerns over the merger's impact on competition remain limited, given Homeplus Express' relatively small market presence. "In terms of chicken products, Homeplus Express' share of the SSM market remains low, at around 2 percent," the FTC said. "It is unli