Lotte Rental Shares Surge After Regulator Approves $947 Million TPG Takeover

Shares of Lotte Rental (089860.KS) surged on Tuesday after South Korea’s antitrust regulator gave the final green light for U.S. private equity firm TPG to acquire a controlling interest in the vehicle rental company.

The Approved Transaction

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) formally approved TPG's acquisition of a 61.18% management stake in Lotte Rental. The deal, valued at approximately ₩1.3105 trillion ($947 million), will see the controlling shares transferred from Hotel Lotte and Busan Lotte Hotel to a TPG-affiliated special purpose vehicle.

The approval marks the end of Lotte Rental’s 11-year affiliation with the Lotte Group and clears the path for the company to come under new ownership.

Competition Concerns Avoided

The regulatory clearance is significant given that a previous attempt by another firm to acquire the same stake was blocked. In early 2026, the FTC rejected a bid from Affinity Equity Partners, citing concerns that the deal would stifle competition, as Affinity already owned South Korea's second-largest car rental operator.

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In contrast, the FTC classified the TPG transaction as a "mixed merger" between businesses in unrelated markets. The regulator determined there was no competitive overlap between TPG’s private equity and other business interests and Lotte Rental’s vehicle operations, concluding the deal posed no threat to market competition.

Market Reaction

Investors responded positively to the removal of regulatory uncertainty surrounding the deal. Lotte Rental's stock climbed 8.8% to close at ₩51,500.

The company-specific news drove the stock's outperformance, as the broader South Korean equity market provided little momentum, with the benchmark KOSPI index trading nearly flat for the day.