Rewe under pressure: Record penalty of 70 million euros for fusion violation!

Rewe under pressure: Record penalty of 70 million euros for fusion violation!

REWE International AG, the parent company of Billa, is at the center of a historical antitrust penalty in Austria. This was imposed by the Supreme Court (OGH) and is a spectacular 70 million euros. The punishment was almost in response to a violation in which Rewe did not register the merger when purchasing sales areas in Welas Park shopping center in good time. According to the constitutional expert Heinz Mayer, the decision of the OGH is "unconstitutional" because it acted unauthorized as an antitrust lawyer. Mayer criticized the comprehensive interpretation of the OGH as not compatible with the law and the intention of the legislator, as in the article by oe24.at reported.

Background of the record penalty lies in the takeover of a food retail by the then subsidiary Merkur, which now operates as a Billa Plus. The process goes back to 2018 when the BWB (Federal Competition Authority) argued that this was taken over by a message, since a previously operated food trade was adopted. While the antitrust court initially set the fine to 1.5 million euros, the OGH raised this decision in November 2023 and applied to the antitrust court to determine a much higher punishment, which was the starting point for the further legal steps. According to Sn.at > this was the highest cartel penalty that has ever been imposed in Austria.

Although the takeover was finally approved, the BWB explained this as a "formal error", which does not reduce the severity of the decision. The OGH emphasized that such fines should not only appear repressive, but also preventive in order to prevent future violations in the field of competition. The competition authority has long been pushing to tighten the antitrust and competition law regulations in order to counteract the highly concentrated market in the food trade. Rewe criticized the amount of the punishment as "disproportionately high" and is currently examining possible legal steps against the judgment. The discussion about adequate punishments and compliance with registration obligations will continue to be violent.