The Bundeskartellamt has cleared the indirect acquisition of Uckermärker Milch GmbH by EDEKA ZENTRALE Stiftung & Co. KG

The Bundeskartellamt has cleared the indirect acquisition of Uckermärker Milch GmbH (Uckermärker), a subsidiary of Ostmilch Handels GmbH, by EDEKA ZENTRALE Stiftung & Co. KG (EDEKA).

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “The Bundeskartellamt always takes a very close look when food producers are acquired by large food retailers. Our task is to ensure that such acquisitions do not lead to market foreclosure to the detriment of other producers or retailers. In this case, however, there is no reason to believe that this will happen. EDEKA has so far not been involved in the production of dairy products and Uckermärker only has relatively small market shares in the different markets for raw milk, butter, curd and milk powder. There are many larger dairy companies in Germany, leaving both the retailers and the different dairy companies with sufficient alternatives even after the merger.”

Uckermärker operates a dairy in Prenzlau in the northern part of Brandenburg. Most of the raw milk it uses to make its products comes from farms in the Uckermark region. The company’s products include butter, curd and milk powder.

The EDEKA group is the leading food retailer in Germany, with a turnover of more than 70 billion euros in 2023. The group has a three-tier structure consisting of the EDEKA Zentrale in Hamburg, the regional companies and regional EDEKA cooperatives, and the approximately 3,400 independent retailers throughout Germany belonging to the regional cooperatives. The Bundeskartellamt regards the EDEKA group as a single economic entity (see the press releases of 15 May 2024 and 2 December 2024). The EDEKA group’s operations also include EDEKA Fruchtkontor (specialising in fruit, vegetables and flowers), a winery, its own meat factories and bakeries, a pasta factory and its own juice production. All of its products are mainly produced for sale in the group’s own bakery shops and food retail stores. EDEKA has so far not been active in the production of dairy products.