The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has granted approval for Neue Pressegesellschaft to acquire all shares of Media Holding Süd. Media Holding Süd is currently part of Südwestdeutsche Medienholding (SWMH) and publishes regional daily newspapers in Baden-Württemberg, including 'Stuttgarter Zeitung' and 'Schwarzwälder Bote'. Neue Pressegesellschaft also publishes regional newspapers, notably 'Südwest Presse', and both companies are involved in advertising publications and private radio stations.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, expressed concerns about the competitive implications of the acquisition, particularly since 'Schwarzwälder Bote' and 'Südwest Presse' are the only competitors in parts of Baden-Württemberg. However, the authority had to approve the merger because Neue Pressegesellschaft sold a local edition of 'Südwest Presse' prior to the merger, which reduced the problematic market volumes below the threshold required for prohibition under the law.

In the regions of Horb and northern Zollernalbkreis, the local editions of 'Schwarzwälder Bote' and 'Südwest Presse' are currently the only regional subscription daily newspapers. The merger would have completely eliminated competition in these areas. However, since the 'Neckar Chronik', a local edition of 'Südwest Presse', was sold to a third party who intends to operate it independently, the Bundeskartellamt found that competition would not be significantly impaired in that area. The only remaining concern was in northern Zollernalbkreis, where the revenues from readership and advertising did not meet the legal threshold for prohibition.

The approval was granted despite expectations of the emergence of dominant market positions because the revenues from the affected readership and advertising markets were below the so-called de minimis threshold of 20 million euros. Under current press merger control regulations, a market volume of five million euros must be reached for the Bundeskartellamt to issue a prohibition, which was not the case here.

This acquisition is part of a consolidation within the shareholder group of SWMH. The Bundeskartellamt has previously approved the acquisition of the specialist information division of SWMH by Medien Union Ludwigshafen.