Rema 1000's takeover of the majority of the Aldi chain in Denmark is to be investigated further by local competition authorities, according to media reports.
News portal E24 reported that Denmark's Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen (Competition and Consumer Authority) was moving its investigation of the merger from 'phase 1' to 'phase 2', a process that is likely to take an additional 90 days.
E24 quoted a Rema 1000 spokesperson as saying that the group had no comment to make, "out of respect for the competition authorities' proceedings".
Last year, Rema 1000, which is owned by Norway's Reitan Retail, reported a turnover of NOK 28.3 billion (€2.41 billion) in Denmark, compared to NOK 47.4 billion (€4.04 billion) in its home market.
Read More: Rema 1000 Owner Reitan Retail Sees Profit Down 5%
'Largest Grocery Chain'
In December, Reitan Retail said that it had agreed to purchase 114 Danish grocery stores and three distribution centres, in a move that would make Rema 1000 "the largest chain of grocery stores in Denmark," Reitan Retail chief executive Ole Robert Reitan said at the time.
Prior to the transaction, Rema 1000 operated around 330 grocery stores in Denmark.
Full Exit From Denmark
Aldi Denmark, which is part of Aldi Nord, said in a statement at the time that the sale was part of a full exit from the Danish market, where it has a total of 188 stores.
Aldi will instead focus on eight other key markets in Europe.
Read More: Aldi Exits Danish Market, Sells 114 Stores To Norway's Reitan Retail
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
