Germany: Hospital operators withdraw merger notifications in two cases after FCO expresses concerns

In two separate merger control proceedings in the hospital sector the operators concerned have each withdrawn their notifications in second phase proceedings after the Bundeskartellamt had expressed preliminary concerns.

In the one case Ameos Psychiatrie Holding, Kiel (“Ameos”), had notified the authority of its plans to acquire the majority of shares in Sana Kliniken Ostholstein, Eutin (“Sana Kliniken”). In the other case the hospital operator “Stiftung der Cellitinnen zur heiligen Maria” (“Cellitinnen Nord”) in Cologne had planned to merge with the hospital operator “Stiftung der Cellitinnen gemeinnütziger eingetragener Verein” (“Cellitinnen Süd”), also based in Cologne.

Both operators belong to different religious communities of the Roman Catholic Church.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “Competition is an important means to ensure quality, also in the hospital sector. If patients and referring physicians have a sufficient range of alternatives, hospitals will be induced to attract patients and invest in the quality of their establishments. Most of the hospital mergers notified to the Bundeskartellamt in recent years were cleared. However, according to our preliminary assessment, the planned hospital mergers both in Schleswig-Holstein and Cologne would have greatly limited choice for local patients.”