Lee & Ko Secures Unconditional Merger Clearance for EcoPro Group’s Acquisition of Shares in PT. Green Eco Nickel

Lee & Ko represented EcoPro Co., Ltd. and EcoPro Materials (collectively, “EcoPro Group”) in their acquisition of shares in PT. Green Eco Nickel, a nickel MHP manufacturing company located in Indonesia, and successfully secured unconditional merger clearance from the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”).

In this case, the key issue was the definition of the relevant product market, as a narrower market definition could result in vertical and horizontal overlap across various sub-markets.

Despite existing precedents on market definition, the KFTC expressed its clear intention to adopt a narrower market definition and conducted a rigorous review of the transaction. In response, Lee & Ko submitted extensive materials on the market definition, including opinions from interested parties and experts, and persuasively argued that the transaction would not raise any anticompetitive concerns regardless of how the relevant market was defined.

Because of pressing business needs, obtaining swift approval by the KFTC before the end of May was critical for EcoPro Group. Amid repeated requests from the KFTC for supplemental materials, Lee & Ko developed effective response strategies based on a deep understanding of the industry and extensive expertise in merger review cases.

As a result of these professional and systematic efforts in responding to the KFTC’s requests, Lee & Ko secured unconditional merger clearance within 7 days (excluding the period for responding to the KFTC’s request for supplemental materials), enabling the client to achieve its business objectives.