The European Commission has referred to the German competition national authority the assessment of the proposed acquisition of OMV Retail Deutschland GmbH (‘OMV’) of Germany by EG Group Limited (‘EG Group’) of the UK. Currently, EG Group operates approximately 1,000 fuel stations across Germany, while OMV operates 286 stations all located in the South of Germany.
The German competition authority asked the Commission to refer the proposed concentration to it. It considers that the transaction may threaten to significantly affect competition in several local markets for the retail sale of fuel at motor stations in Germany, which present all the characteristics of distinct markets.
The evidence gathered by the Commission confirmed that the conditions for a referral under Article 9 of the EU Merger Regulation were fulfilled and that the German competition authority is best placed to assess the effects of the transaction in Germany. The Commission has therefore decided to refer the case to Germany. The German authorities will deal with the case under national law. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.10134.