Clearance of takeover by REMONDIS of the Bördner group in Limburg

The Bundeskartellamt has cleared the acquisition of the Bördner group, Limburg, by REMONDIS GmbH & Co. KG, Region Südwest, Mannheim. With the companies Albert Bördner GmbH Städtereinigung and B-F Sonderabfall GmbH & Co. KG, the Bördner group is active in the waste management business in the Limburg area and Hochsauerland district.

REMONDIS, Germany's largest waste management company, belongs to the Rethmann group, which is internationally active in logistics and waste management. With this merger Remondis will further extend its network of locations in north-west Hesse and strengthen its leading position in the collection of household and commercial waste in the greater Rhine-Main region.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "Although REMONDIS can expand its strong market position in the region, the merger did not fulfil the preconditions for a prohibition order. Our thorough examination of the markets affected has shown that even after the merger there will still be sufficient competitive pressure from other market participants in all business areas affected by the merger."

The offer of services provided by the Bördner group includes the collection of different types of household waste on behalf of public waste management authorities and compliance schemes (“duale Systeme”). The Bördner group also collects, handles, stores and sorts commercial and hazardous waste for recycling. It also operates a waste paper sorting plant.

As well as determining and assessing the market shares of the companies, the Bundeskartellamt has examined in particular the results of calls for tender of public waste management authorities and compliance schemes for the collection of household waste. In order to assess the intensity of competition in the markets for the collection of commercial and hazardous waste, it also examined how the merger would affect competitors' access to waste incineration and recycling plants.

The markets for the collection of glass and lightweight packaging were not taken into consideration in the assessment of the merger. These are so-called deminimis markets, in which a merger cannot be prohibited.