Bundeskartellamt has no objections to merger between several Catholic hospitals in northern Ruhr area

The Bundeskartellamt has cleared plans by St. Augustinus Gelsenkirchen GmbH and KKRN Katholisches Klinikum Ruhrgebiet Nord GmbH to merge their hospital management companies and other affiliated companies to form a new joint holding company, KERN Katholische Einrichtungen Ruhrgebiet Nord GmbH.

The merger parties, essentially owned by local Catholic parishes, operate ten hospital sites, some residential and nursing homes, medical care centres, child and youth service institutions as well as an education institute for nursing professions.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “The Ruhr area has an above average density of hospitals. This means that, if needed, patients have sufficient alternatives to the merger parties’ institutions. As the planned merger raises no competition concerns, it was cleared within the one-month period in the first phase of merger control.”

The merger parties’ hospitals, including psychiatric and geriatric establishments, have a total of approximately 2,500 beds. The hospitals are located in Gelsenkirchen (4 sites), Gladbeck, Bottrop, Dorsten, Marl, Haltern am See and Westerholt (Herten). Although the merger parties carry out their activities in close geographic proximity to one another – St. Augustinus in Gelsenkirchen/Gladbeck, and KKRN just north of that area (Marl/Drosten) – there are only minimal overlaps relevant to competition. People living in the northern Ruhr area also use competing local hospitals (Knappschaft Kliniken, for example) and even hospitals that are further away, such as the university hospitals in Essen and Münster.