Linklaters obtains the Belgian Competition Authority’s greenlight for the acquisition by ITM Alimentaire Belgium of Mestdagh
The Antitrust and Foreign Investment Group team of Linklaters Paris, composed of Anne Wachsmann (Partner), Nicolas Zacharie (Counsel), Daniel Green (Associate) and Victor Renaudier (Associate), has obtained clearance from the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) for the acquisition by Intermarché Alimentaire Belgium (ITM AB) of around 89 Mestdagh points of sale in Belgium, representing a total turnover of more than 560 million euros. This is the largest transaction in the Belgian food retail market since the combination of Ahold and Delhaize in 2016.
The transaction was first submitted to the European Commission (Commission) which, at the request of ITM AB, referred the examination of the transaction to the BCA by decision of 15 June 2022, as it was the best placed authority to examine the transaction in its entirety in view of its experience in this sector and as is traditionally the case for cases with a local dimension.
The transaction was notified to the BCA on 9 September 2022. In a decision dated 9 November 2022, it concluded that there were no competition risks in the upstream supply and downstream retail markets for daily consumer goods. The BCA relied on its economic department to carry out detailed analyses of the catchment areas around the parties' points of sale, which enabled the BCA to authorise the transaction without conditions at the end of a phase 1.
A cross-border and multidisciplinary Linklaters team led by Anne Wachsmann (Partner, Antitrust and Foreign Investment Group, Paris), Arnaud Coibion (Partner, Corporate & Finance, Brussels), Nicolas Zacharie (Counsel, Antitrust and Foreign Investment Group, Paris), Jérémy Filbiche (Managing Associate, Corporate & Finance, Brussels), Daniel Green (Associate, Antitrust and Foreign Investment Group, Paris), Victor Renaudier (Associate, Antitrust and Foreign Investment Group, Paris) and Victoria Liégeois (Associate, Corporate & Finance, Brussels) assisted Groupement Les Mousquetaires in the acquisition of Mestdagh, a Belgian competitor under the Carrefour banner.
