The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has successfully concluded an administrative procedure against Deutsche Post AG (DPAG) and companies within the Max-Ventures group, which are involved in mail consolidation services. This decision follows the companies' resolution of existing corporate entanglements that raised suspicions of anti-competitive agreements.

The investigation was initiated in July 2023 to explore potential restrictions on competition between the two entities. Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, emphasized that the mail consolidation business model provides significant competitive pressure in the business customer segment against the dominant market player, Deutsche Post AG. The authority noted that this competitive pressure was significantly weakened while the two companies were intertwined.

Mail consolidators offer business clients parts of the mail delivery process, allowing them to achieve cost savings. This includes the collection of letters, pre-sorting according to specific guidelines, and transportation to DPAG's mail centers. By merging mail volumes with those of other clients, they can secure higher discounts for business customers.

Deutsche Post InHaus Services GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DPAG, is the leading provider of mail consolidation services, with Max-Ventures being its main competitor through its subsidiaries Postcon Konsolidierungs GmbH and freesort GmbH. Previously, both Max-Ventures (holding 74%) and DPAG (holding 26%) were involved in another service provider, Compador Dienstleistungs GmbH. Additionally, Max-Ventures had largely transferred the mail consolidation services it offered to its clients to Deutsche Post InHaus on a contractual basis, and had also closed its own mail sorting locations.

In response to the competition concerns raised by the Bundeskartellamt, the entanglement with Compador has now been resolved. DPAG has divested its shares to the Max-Ventures group, and the existing contract for the transfer of mail consolidation services from Max-Ventures to Deutsche Post InHaus has been terminated. Any potential new contract will be negotiated as separate entities, free from previous entanglements.