The European Commission has accepted Luxembourg’s request for a referral to assess, pursuant to Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (EC/139/2004), the acquisition of Boissons Heintz by Brasserie Nationale (Luxembourg) for the wholesale distribution of beverages in Luxembourg. Following this request, the Commission asked Brasserie Nationale to notify the transaction.
The Commission points out that the proposed transaction does not meet the turnover thresholds set by the European Merger Regulation or the notification thresholds under the merger control rules of any European Economic Area (EEA) State and, as such, had not been notified.
However, on 7 February 2024, the Luxembourg Competition Authority submitted a referral request to the Commission so that the Commission could examine this transaction. Although the transaction does not have a European dimension, according to the Luxembourg authority it nevertheless affects trade between Member States and threatens to significantly affect competition on Luxembourg territory, given the importance of beverage imports into Luxembourg. In addition, the merger would bring together the two main wholesale drinks distributors in Luxembourg. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)