ACM imposes conditions on merger Coop/Plus – mr. J. Sterk – December 23, 2021

Today, ACM announced that it would approve the merger under the condition that shops must be sold in 12 market areas, otherwise there would be too little competition in those market areas. The areas are: Harmelen, Hollandscheveld, Rolde, Ruurlo, Stolwijk, Terborg, Wehl, Groot Ammers, Wekerom, Ravenstein, Uddel and Vlieland. Businesses are also located in these areas.

Although the full decision has not yet been published, it seems to be possible to deduce from these areas that ACM has also included Plus’ participation in Spar in its considerations.

For the entrepreneurs involved, this means that solutions must be sought within a non-public period set by ACM. In the past, this has happened in a similar way, for example with the transition from C1000 to Jumbo. Which has not worked out well in all cases. Entrepreneurs involved must be assisted in this negotiation by experts, so that they can properly assess the opportunities and risks of the situation that has arisen. Now that Spar seems to be involved, it is also questionable whether there are still realistic alternatives available in some market areas? As a specialist in (supermarket) franchise and market leader, Ludwig & Van Dam has extensive experience in supervising this type of process.

For more information:

Jeroen Sterk – Sterk@ludwigvandam.nl

Alex Dolphijn – dolphijn@ludwigvandam.nl