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The Federal Cartel Office has approved Tönnies International Management GmbH, a Premium Food Group company, to acquire sole control and a majority stake in IFF Ventures GmbH & Co. KG (IFF). IFF owns The Family Butchers Group, which, like Premium Food Group, produces sausages and hams.
Premium Food Group generated sales of €7.3 billion worldwide and €4.1 billion in Germany in 2023. The group, based in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, is a family-owned company specializing in the slaughter and cutting of pigs and cattle, the utilization of slaughter by-products, and the production of meat products from pork, beef, and poultry. Together with the Zur Mühlen Group, which is part of the holding, Premium Food Group is Germany's largest sausage manufacturer.
The Family Butchers is one of Germany's leading sausage manufacturers, with total sales of around €700 million across all product categories in 2023. It was founded in 2020 following the merger of Kemper and Reinert.
The Federal Cartel Office conducted extensive investigations and interviewed major manufacturers, food retailers, and its own meat processing plants. It also carried out a differentiated analysis by meat type, as well as between refrigerated and non-refrigerated products. More than 20 different product markets were examined.
In almost all relevant markets, the parties maintain market shares of less than 40% even after the merger, which means they fall below the legal presumption of market dominance. In addition to the two companies involved, numerous other producers in Germany exert strong competitive pressure, as many food retailers have their own sausage production facilities (notably Edeka, Rewe, and Kaufland) that supply their own retail divisions within the group.
Despite the strong combined market position and significant increase in market share of Premium Food Group and The Family Butchers, the conditions for prohibiting the merger are not met. Even after the merger, there will still be sufficient competition and sufficient alternative sources of supply for food retailers.
September 18, 2025/ Federal Cartel Office/ Germany.
https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/
