Bundeskartellamt conducts search of Hamburg hospitals

On 7 November the Bundeskartellamt carried out a search operation on the suspicion that the prohibition of putting a merger into effect had been violated in the Hamburg hospital market. The case concerns the planned takeover by LBK Hamburg GmbH of the Hamburg “Mariahilf“ Hospital which is run by a non-profit making organisation. LBK Hamburg GmbH is the operator of hospitals which were originally owned by the City of Hamburg under the name of “Landesbetrieb Krankenhäuser Hamburg”. After a partial privatisation the private hospital group Asklepios acquired a share in LBK. In two detailed preliminary discussions the Bundeskartellamt had pointed out to LBK that in view of LBK’s market position in the Hamburg hospital market, the takeover of the “Mariahilf” Hospital was problematic under merger control law. So far the Bundeskartellamt has not received any notification of the planned concentration to be examined.

The President of the Bundeskartellamt, Ulf Böge, stated: “LBK is suspected of having already taken over control of the Mariahilf hospital or at least of exercising a so-called “competitively significant influence” on the hospital. Under competition law companies are prohibited from putting into effect a merger which has not been cleared by the Bundeskartellamt. A violation of this prohibition is an administrative offence and can be punished by a fine of up to 1 million Euro or 10 per cent of the total turnover.”

The purpose of the search operation is to secure evidence which could affirm or refute the accusation. The searches were conducted at several locations. A total of 13 Bundeskartellamt staff members took part in the searches, assisted by staff from the local criminal investigation departments.