Remondis must also report smaller investments in waste disposal companies in future

The Federal Cartel Office has issued a decision requiring the Rethmann Group, to which the waste disposal company Remondis belongs, to notify the Federal Cartel Office of future mergers in specific sectors of the economy for a period of three years prior to their implementation. The obligation covers mergers in the area of non-hazardous household waste collection, i.e., the collection of residual, organic, and bulky waste, as well as paper, cardboard and cardboard packaging (PPK) and mixed packaging and glass, as well as mergers in the field of hollow glass processing in corresponding processing plants, provided that these are not minor cases and the target company's sales revenues in the affected sectors amount to at least €100,000.

With this decision, the Federal Cartel Office is applying for the first time a regulation introduced in 2021 and further amended at the end of 2023, according to which companies may also be required to notify mergers that are not normally subject to notification and thus to a review of their competitive effects.

“Smaller companies often play an important role in competition.”

“The general statutory turnover thresholds for the notification requirement for mergers can mean that the acquisition of smaller companies is not subject to a competition review,” explained Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office. “In the regionally defined waste disposal markets, smaller companies with lower total sales often play an important role in local competition. The Rethmann Group is the national leader in the waste disposal business. With today's decision, we want to ensure that the acquisition of smaller competitors is also subject to effective control.”

Rethmann Group is the market leader in several federal states

The authority's finding that the acquisition of relatively small competitors by the Rethmann Group could also be harmful to competition in individual cases is based on the results of a sector inquiry completed at the end of 2023. The Rethmann Group is the market leader both nationwide and in several federal states, with considerable market shares and a large lead over its competitors, particularly in the collection of non-hazardous municipal waste and the processing of waste glass. Thanks to their almost nationwide market presence in Germany, their companies also have outstanding access to the relevant regional sales and procurement markets and considerable financial strength. The markets in question are also characterized by high barriers to entry, while at the same time there is ongoing consolidation of the markets, particularly as a result of the Rethmann Group's acquisition activities. In the area of municipal waste collection, the number of bidders participating in tenders issued by municipalities or dual systems has also declined steadily.

Links (internal)

• Joint venture between the city and Remondis bought back the municipal utilities from the bankruptcy estate (250407)
• “Remondis achieved a return on equity of 5578 percent at GMVA Niederrhein” (140711)
• Remondis wants to take over RWE's stake (140507)
• Remondis takes over water business from Suez Environnement (111216)
• Cartel Office approves sale of RWE Umwelt subject to conditions (050202)

• List of links on waste incineration