12/01/2022 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission may soon decide to prohibit the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) by another shipbuilding group, Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (HHIH), fearing a dominant position of these South Korean groups in the construction of cargo ships, two sources close to the case told AFP on Tuesday 11 January (see EUROPE 12392/16). The Commission was notified of this proposed merger between two of the world’s largest shipyards in November 2019 and opened an in-depth investigation. The Commission may justify this decision because of the dominant position that the new entity would have in the construction of ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) and in container ships. The takeover of Daewoo by its competitor Hyundai would create a group controlling almost two-thirds of the world’s LNG ship market. (LC)