BUNDESKARTELLAMT CLEARED THE MERGER BETWEEN EBAY CLASSIFIEDS GROUP AND ADEVINTA
11/12/2020
German competition authority Bundeskartellamt approved the acquisition by Adevinta of eBay Classifieds Group which is a previous eBay subsidiary.
The eBay Classifieds Group includes the online classified ad platform eBay Kleinanzeigen and the online platform mobile.de which specialises in car sales but it does not include the auction platform eBay. On the other hand, Adevinta operates the online classified ads portal shpock.de in Germany. eBay Kleinanzeigen is by far the largest online classified ad platform in Germany. Bundeskartellamt approved the merger based on the following assessments:
- Although the merger will place eBay Kleinanzeigen and Shpock under the umbrella of Adevinta, it will not significantly impede competition due to Shpock’s turnover and its market shares in Germany are very low,
- Effective competition is provided in the classified ad platform segment both by incumbent providers and newcomers, thus, consumers will still have sufficient alternatives to choose from,
- Competitive pressure is also exerted on classified ad platforms by specialised transaction platforms for cars, real estate and job vacancies.
As a result, Bundeskartellamt approved the merger on the grounds that it does not restrict competition.
(Bundeskartellamt 24.11.2020)
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