The Bundeskartellamt has decided not to prohibit the planned acquisition of the magazines 'Gala' and 'Brigitte', as well as the digital title 'Eltern', by FUNKE Mediengruppe from Gruner + Jahr.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, stated that the acquisition primarily affects the reader markets for women's magazines. FUNKE already owns several well-known titles in this sector, and there remains adequate competition from larger publishers such as Burda, Bauer, and Klambt, as well as some smaller publishers. A key factor in the approval was that the print advertising marketing for the magazines will not be transferred to FUNKE.

Following discussions with the Bundeskartellamt, the parties involved have decided that the advertising marketing for 'Gala' and 'Brigitte' will continue to be handled by Ad Alliance, ensuring that the print marketing of these high-revenue titles remains independent of FUNKE and BCN.

Any future transition of advertising marketing for 'Gala' and 'Brigitte' to FUNKE or BCN would be subject to further antitrust scrutiny.

In the reader markets for women's magazines, no competitive issues were anticipated, whether considering a broad market for women's magazines or more specific segments such as yellow press, people magazines, or quality women's magazines. Burda publishes notable titles like 'Bunte' and 'Freundin', while Klambt offers 'Für Sie' and 'Grazia', and Bauer publishes 'Cosmopolitan'. Additionally, there are established titles from other publishers such as 'Maxi', 'Emotion', 'Glamour', and 'Frau im Leben'. In the yellow press sector, larger publishers are also well-represented, and smaller publishers are particularly active, with market entry being relatively easy.

'Eltern' includes a podcast and websites such as eltern.de, urbia.de, vorname.com, and schwangerschaft.de, along with corresponding apps and social media accounts, all of which face significant competition.