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The Bundeskartellamt has prohibited plans by Tönnies International Management GmbH to acquire several companies and assets from Vion GmbH and Vion Beef B.V., in particular the slaughterhouses in Buchloe, Crailsheim and Waldkraiburg.
In June 2024 Vion announced its intention to discontinue most of its previous business activities in Germany and to sell its facilities located in Germany. In the context of this process, the Bundeskartellamt and the European Commission have, since early 2024, already examined several merger projects relating to former Vion sites, all of which have so far been cleared.
The planned takeover affects several areas relating to the slaughtering and sales of meat, which have to be differentiated from a competition perspective. These areas include the procurement of cattle and pigs for slaughter, the slaughtering process, meat cutting and sales of slaughter products.
The Bundeskartellamt concluded that the merger would result in the creation or strengthening of a dominant position for Tönnies in several regional slaughter markets in southern and eastern Germany.
After a takeover of the Vion sites, Tönnies would achieve market shares of well over 40 per cent in the catchment areas of the Buchloe, Waldkraiburg and Kempten slaughterhouses, by far exceeding the market shares of the remaining, significantly smaller competitors.
In addition, in the regional market for the slaughtering of pigs which is defined by the catchment area of the Weißenfels slaughterhouse, the proposed merger would result in strengthening the dominant position already held by Tönnies in this area. Tönnies already enjoys a significant market share lead with regard to the slaughtering of pigs in this area and would be able to expand this position even further by acquiring the Crailsheim site, whose catchment area overlaps with the market area surrounding the Weißenfels site.
The merger would also enable Tönnies to expand its role as the German market leader in the markets for the sale of pigs (whole or half) and pig meat, and to become the market leader in the market for the sale of cattle (whole or half).
The parties were informed of the Bundeskartellamt’s competition law concerns in a statement of objections sent to them in March 2025. In late April the parties submitted commitment proposals with the aim to dispel the competition concerns. The proposals referred to the divestment and leasing of facilities to acquirers designated by Tönnies. However, in the Bundeskartellamt’s view, these commitments were not capable of preventing the creation or strengthening of the group’s dominant positions in the markets affected by the merger, considering the specific details of the commitments and the fact that the proposed acquirers would not be independent from the Tönnies Group.
The Bundeskartellamt’s decision is not yet final. It can be appealed to the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
June 12, 2025/ Bundeskartellamt/ Germany. https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/
