The German Competition Authority blocks a merger between two food retailers with a strong position in different regional markets as it would impede effective competition in the food retail market (Kaiser’s Tengelmann / EDEKA)

At the beginning of April 2015, the Bundeskartellamt blocked the merger between Edeka and Kaiser’s Tengelmann ("Tengelmann"), which had been notified in October 2014. In the proposed merger, Edeka intends to acquire approximately 450 outlets of Tengelmann. Both companies are food retailers with a strong market position in different regional German markets, i.e. Berlin, Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia. As a consequence of the prohibition decision, the merging parties initiated an application...