Fusie Bertelsmann en Springer toegestaan (en)

The European Commission has approved the creation of the rotogravure printing joint venture by German media companies Bertelsmann AG and Axel Springer AG. The joint venture will combine five printing facilities in Germany and one UK site under construction. The Commission's in-depth investigation has shown that the concentration will not significantly impede competition in the Single Market or any Member State. This decision concludes the first full in depth investigation under the new Merger Regulation 139/2004 which entered into force on 1^st May 2004.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes stated "The Commission's detailed investigation has shown that the new company will be constrained by competitive pressure and will therefore not be able to behave to the detriment of its customers or European consumers."

Bertelsmann AG is a German media company with worldwide activities in broadcasting, music, publishing and printing. Its printing activities are currently operated by its subsidiaries Arvato and Gruner+Jahr. Axel Springer AG is a German media company with its main activities in newspaper and magazine publishing and printing.

The joint venture combines the five existing German rotogravure printing facilities of Arvato, Gruner+Jahr and Springer and the new site which is currently being set up by Arvato in the UK. The new joint venture will not include either Bertelsmann's rotogravure facilities in Spain and Italy or the offset printing activities belonging to the companies involved.

The transaction was notified to the Commission on 4 November 2004. In response to a referral request by the German Bundeskartellamt, the Commission decided to deal itself with the case given the joint venture's Europe-wide effects in some markets. However, the Commission focussed in particular on the German market for rotogravure printing of magazines. In view of the particularly strong position on this market of the companies involved, the Commission had serious doubts as to the compatibility of the proposed concentration with the common market and opened proceedings on 23 December 2004 (see IP/04/1542).

The in-depth investigation confirmed the Commission's initial findings that for high printing volumes of magazines, catalogues and advertisements, rotogravure printing is not substitutable by the offset technique. On the German market for rotogravure printing of magazines the parties' combined share amounts to nearly 50%.

However, the market investigation also revealed that despite high market shares the joint venture will not be able to increase prices as its competitors could readily expand their capacity allocated to magazine printing and thereby exert effective competitive constraints. In addition, the joint venture will face potential competitors on the German market for rotogravure printing of magazines in particular from printers based in The Netherlands, France and Italy..

On the other affected product markets, no competition concerns arose either on a national or a broader level. The Commission also concluded that Springer and Bertelsmann's vertical integration into magazine publishing would not be altered by the notified concentration.