Germany’s national competition regulator, the Bundeskartellamt, has conditionally approved supermarket chain Rewe’s purchase of 38 Tegut grocery stores and two properties.
The clearance followed Rewe’s commitment not to acquire two Tegut stores in Hesse, after it initially notified the regulator of plans to buy 40 stores and two properties.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
An investigation began in April 2026, followed by a preliminary legal assessment in late August.
The authority found that the deal in its original form would significantly impede effective competition in the local areas of Schlüchtern, Marburg-Ketzerbach, and Marburg-City.
Rewe has agreed not to acquire Tegut’s stores in Marburg-Ketzerbach and Schlüchtern for four years.
The commitment covers the whole Rewe Group and prevents it from entering into subsequent lease agreements for the sites.
The exclusion of the Marburg-Ketzerbach store addresses competition concerns in Marburg-City because the relevant catchment areas overlap.
The authority also examined possible effects on upstream purchasing markets, using evidence collected during its separate review of retailer Edeka’s acquisition of Tegut assets.
Rewe’s share of national procurement volume will increase by well below 0.2 percentage points, despite its position as a buyer for branded food manufacturers.
Tegut has also given binding assurances that Rewe will not receive access to purchasing terms agreed by Tegut or the RTG purchasing co-operation during or after integration.
According to the regulator, Edeka, Rewe, the Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl and Kaufland, and Aldi account for more than 90% of nationwide turnover in Germany’s food retail sector.
Migros Zurich announced in March 2026 that it would withdraw completely from Germany and sell Tegut, which had operated around 300 supermarkets and several automated small-format outlets.
The authority has already cleared the sale of 36 stores to Tante Enso and conditionally approved Edeka’s acquisition of 178 stores and further operating assets.
The decision may be appealed before the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
Bundeskartellamt president Andreas Mundt: “With four companies accounting for 90% of the total turnover in the food retail sector, concentration in this sector is very high. However, our investigation has also shown that there is competition between the large retailers, which will remain unaffected by the acquisition.
“And the fact is that high concentration alone is not sufficient reason under competition law to prohibit a merger. The decisive criterion is whether the acquisition in question has a significant negative effect on competitive conditions.”
