24/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - Mergers: Redcoon/Media Saturn. On Friday 24 June, the European Commission authorised the purchase of the German company Redcoon (online sales of electrical devices) by Media-Saturn, which belongs to the Metro AG group, another distributor of electrical and electronic devices through its outlets Media Markt and Saturn. The investigation into this plan, which was notified on 17 May, focused mainly on the impact it would have on the retail sales of electronic and household goods, both online and in traditional shops, particularly in Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. It revealed that the cumulative market shares of the two companies in question would remain small, irrespective of the precise definition of the market, and that Media Saturn's current market share would increase only slightly. Furthermore, the entity born of the merger would still have to face many competitors. (F.G./transl.fl)