Mergers, acquisitions in S. Korea tumble amid financial crisis

SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) -- The number of corporate mergers and acquisitions in
South Korea nose-dived in 2008 from the previous year in the wake of the global
financial crisis, the nation's antitrust watchdog said Sunday.
According to the Fair Trade Commission, it deliberated 550 cases of mergers and
acquisitions (M&As) last year, down 36 percent from 857 a year earlier.
In the first three months of this year, 73 reports of M&As were deliberated, down
52 percent from the same period a year earlier, it said.
The watchdog attributed the sharp drop mainly to the impact of the global
financial turmoil that worsened local companies' liquidity conditions.
"Companies tended to avoid mergers and acquisitions last year because of funding
difficulties," it said. "Also responsible was an overall drop in share prices."
The watchdog said foreign companies took over 47 local companies last year, down
16.1 percent from the previous year.
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