The Bundeskartellamt Has Decided not to Initiate a Proceeding Under Competition Law on Account of a Planned Purchasing Cooperation Between the Acquirers of Further “Real” Stores and REWE

On 2 March 2022, the Bundeskartellamt (“Federal Cartel Authority”) cleared the acquisition of "real" stores by the investor Dr Tischendorf with the involvement of the previous "real" management. Dr Tischendorf has now acquired a total of 63 stores. At that time, however, possible agreements on procurement had not yet been examined;

• They focused on the question of whether a purchasing cooperation with REWE as one of the largest retail-ers was absolutely necessary to ensure the further operation of the 63 “real” stores.
• Assessment can only be based on whether the investor’s concept is transparent and plausible in terms of en-trepreneurial aspects and on whether alternative options are refused without reasons or for reasons that cannot be recognised under competition law.

Also, the highlights of the article are:

• The negotiation process initiated in December 2021 had been characterised by the need to achieve sufficiently clear and sustainable solutions for the economic viability of the “real MBO” within a very limited period of time.

• This applied all the more since a new small or medium-sized competitor in the food retail market only accounts for a limited procurement volume and it can be expected that in the near future the previous parent company Metro will discontinue the support.
• The negotiations with the RTG companies have so far not reached a stage where a contract can be concluded.
• The investor had almost con-cluded its negotiations on such a contract with REWE.

Based on the examination;

• It could not be determined that the investor had refused further negotiations on an alternative solution without reasons
• Or because of reasons that would not be ade-quate under competition law.

As a result;

• It must  be accepted that REWE can further increase its procurement volume in the food retail sector.

• The Bundeskartellamt had only cleared the transactions under merger control law subject to the remedy that “real” stores with a food procurement volume of at least 200 million euros be sold to small and medium-sized competitors.

As, in view of the overall conditions, the competition concerns raised by the pro-posed cooperation are not substantial, the Bundeskartellamt has decided not to initiate a proceeding.

You can reach further information here.

You can access the full Audit Report here.

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr