The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has given the green light for Neue Pressegesellschaft to acquire all shares in Medienholding Süd. Medienholding Süd, currently owned by Südwestdeutsche Medienholding, publishes key regional daily newspapers in Baden-Württemberg, including the 'Stuttgarter Zeitung' and 'Schwarzwälder Bote'. Neue Pressegesellschaft also operates regional daily newspapers, such as the 'Südwest Presse', and both companies are involved in distributing advertising newspapers and have stakes in private radio stations.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, acknowledged the competition concerns raised by the merger, particularly since 'Schwarzwälder Bote' and 'Südwest Presse' are the only competitors in certain areas of Baden-Württemberg. However, the merger was ultimately cleared after Neue Pressegesellschaft sold a local edition of 'Südwest Presse', which reduced the problematic market volume below the legal threshold required to block the merger.

In regions like the greater Horb area and the northern Zollernalbkreis district, the merger would have eliminated competition in both reader and advertising markets. However, the sale of the 'Neckar Chronik' edition to a third party, who intends to continue its independent publication, alleviated some concerns in the greater Horb area. The only remaining issue was in the northern Zollernalbkreis district, where the market turnover did not meet the legal threshold for prohibition.

Despite the merger potentially leading to single firm dominance, the Bundeskartellamt noted that the turnover in the relevant markets was below the minor market threshold of 20 million euros, as stipulated in the German Competition Act. Recent amendments to the law have made it more challenging to prohibit mergers in the press sector, as the minor market threshold has been raised and the multiplier applied to press turnover has been reduced.

This acquisition is part of a broader effort to consolidate the shareholder structure of Südwestdeutsche Medienholding, with the Bundeskartellamt having previously cleared other related transactions, including the takeover of SWMH's specialist information division by Medien Union Ludwigshafen.