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Acquisition by La Poste of sole control of Denkhaus

United Kingdom
31/07/1999
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La Poste is the French national mail operator. It is active in the distribution of mail and parcel delivery. It is also active in the financial services sector. Denkhaus is a private German company active in the small parcels market (packages weighing less than 30 kilograms). Through DPD, Denkhaus is also a member of a franchising network for the transport of small parcels. It is active in Germany and most European countries. DPD’s main activity is the organisation of a franchise system.

Without giving a precise market definition, the Commission accepted that the affected market could be the market for small parcels delivered from business to business. This market is characterised by the speed of the delivery and trustworthiness, low costs and precise delivery times. The Commission considered the geographic market to be national. The operation will not lead to an overlap in activity at national level and the impact at European level will be minimal. The Commission therefore concluded that there was no threat to competition within the Community. It disregarded third parties’ concerns relating to the fact that the operation was made possible through revenue that La Poste had gained through its monopoly on the mail market in France, and that Denkhaus’ activities will be developed using that capital. The Commission limited its analysis to the compatibility of the operation with the Merger Regulation. It accepted as ancillary restrictions a non-competition clause for a period of three years. (Case No. IV/M.1371, decision of 26.02.99)

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