Bundeskartellamt clears acquisition of Advanced Power Solutions by the Energizer group

The Bundeskartellamt has cleared the acquisition of Advanced Power Solutions (APS) by the Energizer group. Energizer and APS manufacture and distribute batteries to retailers and business customers under their own or licensed brands. The “Energizer” brand is one of the brands used by the company of the same name for this purpose; APS sells batteries in Europe mainly under the “Panasonic” brand.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “Energizer is the number two battery brand in Germany, but lags far behind the clear market leader Varta. APS’s Panasonic brand is not very widespread in Germany. There are also other well-known brands and many other manufacturers. In none of the relevant battery segments is there a risk of the merger significantly lessening competition to a degree which would justify its prohibition.”    

The Bundeskartellamt’s examination focused on the various markets for the sale of brand consumer batteries to retailers in Germany. Consumer batteries is the general term for the various types of batteries consumers find in shops, including the classic cylindrical batteries (especially types AA and AAA), the button-shaped so-called specialty batteries and hearing aid batteries.

As the markets for the distribution of consumer batteries to retailers differ considerably from one EU Member State to another, there were no grounds to justify defining the market as transnational or pan-European in scope. The reasons for this include different brand perceptions, different pricing strategies and a national focus in the retailers’ purchasing behaviour.

Besides brand batteries, consumers can also buy private-label batteries from retailers. These are produced on behalf of the retailers by both the brand manufacturers as well as specialist contract manufacturers.

The Energizer group’s acquisition of APS has also been notified to the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), where it is still under review.