The Bundeskartellamt has cleared the acquisition of the Dutch Peeters group, a manufacturer of chocolate and nougat spreads, by Wilhelm Reuss GmbH, a member of the Krüger Group based in Bergisch-Gladbach. The Krüger Group is by far Germany’s leading manufacturer of chocolate and nougat spreads for third parties, such as food retailers and other manufacturers.
Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “This acquisition will create a manufacturer which is by far Germany’s leading producer of chocolate and nougat spreads for third parties. There are, however, also numerous competing products and especially the strong manufacturer brand Nutella, which holds more than two thirds of the market shares in Germany; this ultimately made it possible to clear the proposed merger.”
The Krüger Group, one half of which is owned by the Krüger family from Bergisch-Gladbach and the other half by Pfeifer & Langen, a Rhineland-based group of companies producing sugar and snacks, produces chocolate and nougat spreads, in addition to other food, for Lidl (Mister Choc, Choco Nussa), Edeka (Gut & Günstig, Nussetti), Aldi Süd (Nutoka) and others. The Peeters Group, which is significantly smaller in size, also produces private labels for food retailers, especially for Rewe (Ja, Bio) and Aldi Nord (Trader Joe’s).
Full Content: Bundeskartellamt
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