Brussels, 26/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has authorised the Italian agri-food group Barilla to make a takeover bid for the German bakeries group Kamps, on condition that it sells certain activities. Barilla is active in the production and sale of pasta sauce products, bakery products and ice cream. The group's bakery operations are centred in Italy, except for its Wasa subsidiary, which is the leading crispbread manufacturer in several European countries, including Germany. Kamps, for its part, manufactures bakery products in a number of European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and France. The Commission's market investigation showed that the activities of Barilla and Kamps were largely complementary. There are, however, competition concerns on the German market for crispbread, where the Kamps brand, "Lieken Urkorn", is one of the few challenges to the market-leading Wasa brand, produced by Barilla. The only significant competitor with branded products is Brandt's "Burger" division, a leading former East German crispbread brand which, is, however, virtually unknown in western Germany. So as to respond to the Commission's concerns, Barilla proposed selling the activities linked to the brand "Lieken Urkorn" to a valid rival with experience in the food sector, thereby resolving the competition problems observed.