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
Ludwig & Van Dam lawyers, franchise legal advice.
Do you want to respond? Then email to sterk@ludwigvandam.nl
Other messages
How do I keep my location? – June 6, 2019 – mr. K. Bastian
Location is of great importance to franchisors and franchisees, especially in the retail sector.
Supermarket letter – 25
Supermarket Newsletter No. 25
The benchmark for franchise forecasts – dated 29 May 2019 – mr. AW Dolphin
On 19 March 2019, the Den Bosch Court of Appeal, ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2019:1037, listed the case law of the Supreme Court on prognosis in franchising.
Franchise arbitration: too high a threshold? – mr. M. Munnik
When entering into an agreement, it is possible for the parties - contrary to the law - to designate a competent court. This also applies to the franchise agreement. Of this possibility
Franchise appeal for error due to incorrect forecasts and lack of support rejected – dated April 25, 2019 – mr. K. Bastian
The Court of Appeal of 's-Hertogenbosch ruled (ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2019:697) on the question whether the mere fact that forecasts did not materialize justifies the conclusion that the franchisee has been shortchanged...
Article De Nationale Franchise Gids: “Increasing protection against recruiting franchisees” – dated 2 April 2019 – mr. AW Dolphin
It is becoming increasingly apparent that recruited franchisees can be protected on the basis of the Acquisition Fraud Act.