From Bob Geisler
Hamburg Edeka group may the competitors assume Kaiser’s. But criticism of the ministerial approval is fierce
Hamburg. There were big words that Sigmar Gabriel in Berlin voted on Thursday to justify its special permit for the controversial acquisition of Kaiser’s Tengelmann by the Hamburg market leader Edeka. At issue is the preservation of 16,000 jobs and the fate of people who did not belong in this country up to the earners, said the Federal Minister of Economics (SPD). “The common good reasons outweigh the feared restriction of competition.”
Thus, the Vice Chancellor has after almost a year of wrangling given the final green light for the acquisition of approximately 450 Kaiser’s markets by Edeka and at the same time over the concerns of antitrust guards, competitors and suppliers disregarded because of an increasing concentration of power in the food trade.
How serious is my this with their criticism, showed return mail to the reaction of the German number two, the Rewe -Group. Hardly had Gabriel ceded the podium in Berlin, as the Cologne announced already a complaint in court. The decision is bad for all consumers, small and medium suppliers, for agriculture and for the fair competition in general, thundered Rewe CEO Alain Caparros.
Slightly longer needed, the Chairman of the Monopolies Commission, Daniel Zimmer, for his reply, but then dropped it from the more violent. The head of Gabriel’s own advisory body for competition resigned in protest against the decision. “A continuation of my activity in the Monopolies Commission does not appear to me useful if a unanimously granted the Commission’s recommendation is not accepted in a unique case,” the scientist explained.
Room stressed that the Minister granted permission appeared to him in terms of the common good as “the worst of all solutions”. You pity the competition. You should also to the detriment of consumers who would in future expect less choice and higher prices. In the long run it can be assumed that the deal pity and employment. For Edeka have for its dense branch network in the long term more incentives to branch closures as other trading companies.
The Federal Minister of Economics had previously endeavored to make his ministerial approval as well as possible legal waterproof and before all secure the preservation of jobs at Kaiser’s up to seven years. The conditions for the acquisition see specifically provides that Edeka acceptances Kaiser’s markets must not sell to independent retailers or other companies for five years. compulsory redundancies are ruled out for this period and as late as 24 months after a sale also. The collective bargaining coverage and participation rights must be preserved and be lashed with relevant collective agreements with the relevant trade unions Ver.di and NGG. he think Edeka against the conditions, then under certain condition, the revocation of ministerial approval possible.
As much as Gabriel cared about the interests of the workers, so little to last for the competition concerns the critics left. The Bundeskartellamt had prohibited the merger in April 2015 because it feared too great preponderance of Edeka. But from the perspective of the minister is Kaiser’s simply too small to cause a significant shift of power in the food trade. The increase of a few percentage points market share for Edeka in certain regions such as Berlin or Munich would have no negative impact on consumers, price increases are not expected, so Gabriel. This also explains why the Vice Chancellor has not even sought to make further conditions such as the distribution of individual markets in problematic regions for Edeka. That he will get away with this position in court, of which the Minister is convinced. What passing in an action, he was asked. “We will win”, he said it, almost.
The management at Edeka and Tengelmann welcomed nature of the ministerial permission. “We are pleased that we can provide a secure future in the cooperative Edeka composite employees of Kaiser’s Tengelmann,” said the head of the Hamburg group, Markus Mosa. Tengelmann CEO Karl-Erivan Haub said, after the long wait there for the employees finally a perspective. Haub had repeatedly threatened to close Kaiser’s markets, because the chain alone was not able to survive because of their size.
The two companies will now work through the requirements of the Federal Economics Minister swiftly. Edeka was ready for an early agreement with the unions, it said. The first talks were scheduled shortly. Also Ver.di called for timely collective bargaining.
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