(AOF) – The Competition Authority conditionally validates the proposed acquisition by Intermarché of 200 predominantly food distribution stores under the Casino group brand. The Authority specifies that this green light is granted on condition that 11 stores are sold to competing brands “so that consumers can benefit from sufficient alternatives to ensure competition for their purchases of consumer products”.
The Competition Authority specifies that “in order to take into account the difficult economic situation of stores”, it granted the Intermarché group, at its request, an exemption from the suspensive effect of merger control, which allowed the group to carry out the operation without waiting for the decision. This exemption, however, in no way prejudged the final decision: at the end of its investigation and its competitive analysis, the Authority could call into question certain of the acquisitions by considering that remedies would be necessary in areas where competition would be insufficient. after the operation.
This decision concerns stores other than the 61 points of sale under the Casino brand whose acquisition by Intermarché had previously been examined and authorized by the Authority on January 11, 2024, subject to the sale of three stores to Carrefour.
