China Times, August 1, 2024
by Tan Shu-Chen
The Fair Trade Commission stated on August 1st that Lin and others initially held a 29.73% stake in Hi-Life. through Union Co. and Yu Yu Co. Subsequently, when the Wang family, the original major shareholders of Hi-Life, released a 70.27% stake, Lin and others acquired the Wang family’s released shares through Lian He Co., which is controlled by Hao Tian and five other companies, and its subordinate company Chuan Cheng and three other companies on October 16, 2023. This acquisition brought their total shareholding to 100%, meeting the declaration threshold stipulated by the Fair Trade Act. According to the law, Chuan Cheng and the other three companies, or Lin Jun and others who ultimately control them, should have submitted a declaration before the merger but failed to do so, violating the relevant provisions of the Fair Trade Act. As a result, Chuan Cheng and the other three companies were each fined NT$200,000, totaling NT$800,000 in fines.
The Fair Trade Commission noted that considering the parties claimed a misunderstanding of the relevant provisions of the Fair Trade Act regarding merger declaration, and since Chuan Cheng and the other three companies supplemented the merger declaration on January 12, 2024, the merger’s impact on the relevant market was not significant. It is recognized that the overall economic benefit of the merger outweighs the disadvantages of restricting competition, and therefore, the merger is not prohibited.
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