The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has granted clearance for the acquisition of Aschendorff-Verlagsgruppe by Rheinische Post Mediengruppe GmbH. Both companies are involved in publishing local daily newspapers and operate in local broadcasting.

Aschendorff-Verlagsgruppe's portfolio includes titles such as 'Westfälische Nachrichten' and 'Münstersche Zeitung' in the Münsterland region, as well as 'Westfalen-Blatt' in Ostwestfalen-Lippe.

Rheinische Post Mediengruppe GmbH publishes the 'Rheinische Post' in the Rhineland and Lower Rhine, and its portfolio also includes 'General-Anzeiger' (Bonn), 'Trierischer Volksfreund', 'Saarbrücker Zeitung', and 'Pfälzer Merkur'.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, stated that the merger is unproblematic from a competitive perspective, as the distribution areas of the involved publishers do not overlap. Therefore, the companies do not compete directly in either the readership or relevant advertising markets.

The Bundeskartellamt regularly assesses the impact of newspaper mergers on readership and advertising markets, ensuring that readers and advertisers have sufficient alternatives. However, the preservation of diversity of opinion is not a criterion for antitrust evaluation.