The state antitrust watchdog has put the brakes on a Singapore-based private equity fund’s plans to merge South Korea’s two leading vehicle rental companies.

The Fair Trade Commission(FTC) said Monday that it has banned Affinity Equity Partners from acquiring a 63-point-five-percent stake in industry leader Lotte Rental for a planned merger with the second-largest player, SK Rent-a-Car, which it took over in August 2024.

The FTC said it decided to turn down the private equity firm’s request to conduct a merger review, due to concerns that restricting competition in both the short- and long-term rental markets could result in greater polarization and higher rental fees.

Careena Transportation Group, under the firm’s control, signed a deal in March 2025 to acquire the 63-point-five-percent stake in Lotte Rental for approximately one-point-eight trillion won, or around one-point-two billion U.S. dollars.

The case drew attention as it was the first time that a private equity fund filed for an FTC review of a merger between the top two companies in the same industry.