Bundeskartellamt clears acquisition of the durum wheat business of Pfalzmühle Mannheim by GoodMills Deutschland

The Bundeskartellamt has cleared plans by GoodMills Deutschland GmbH, Hamburg, to acquire the durum wheat business of Pfalzmühle Mannheim from PMG Premium Mühlen Gruppe GmbH & Co. KG, Neuss.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "The merger project will strengthen GoodMills Deutschland's position in the market for the production and distribution of durum wheat milling products in southwest Germany. However, this will not significantly impede effective competition as GoodMills Deutschland will continue to face substantial competition from other domestic and foreign suppliers."

In the course of its merger control proceeding the Bundeskartellamt has carried out extensive market investigations. The main product in the relevant product market is semolina, which is derived from the milling of durum wheat and used for the production of pasta. As to the geographic market, there were good
reasons to assume a regional market in southwest Germany. However, the Bundeskartellamt could ultimately leave the definition of the geographic market open.

GoodMills Germany (formerly VK Mühlen) is one of the largest milling companies in Germany. The merger will strengthen its position as market leader in southwest Germany. Nevertheless it can be assumed that the company will still be exposed to enough competitive pressure in the future. As there are considerable overcapacities in the market for durum wheat milling products, sufficient supply alternatives will still be available to customers even after the merger. These overcapacities can also be used for competition purposes as transport costs are relatively low and the customer switching rate is already relatively high.