Rewe CEO Alain Caparros has revealed that the German retailer has no interest in buying the Tengelmann Kaiser's stores that Edeka could have to hand over to a third party in its prolonged takeover bid, according to reports.
Caparros told Tagesspiegel that he's ruling out Rewe stepping in to buy the remaining stores that would ensure that Edeka and Tengelmann can move forward with the takeover process.
"We are not going to play the part of the sweeper here and allow Edeka to win," Caparros told Tagesspiegel.
Edeka and Tengelmann approached the country's competition watchdog with a new proposal last week, hoping to reach a satisfactory compromise for all parties involved. The competition authority confirmed that they received the new proposal on Friday.
A spokesperson for the competition watchdog said that they were going to audit the new proposal before making any decision.
Should the competition watchdog eventually ban the takeover, the retailers might approach Sigmar Gabriel, federal minister of economics, and obtain a special permit.
Caparros heavily criticised this possibility, stating, "It's infuriating how Edeka tries to win Mr Gabriel over as the best man for this wedding."
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news.
