The bosses of Edeka and Rewe have settled the dispute over the troubled supermarket chain. There were thousands of jobs at stake.
In the negotiations on the future of the battered supermarket chain Kaiser's Tengelmann, there is a preliminary agreement after a monthly dispute. Rewe is also to withdraw his complaint against Sigmar Gabriels' ministerial license by November 11th, thus clearing the way for the takeover of Tengelmann by Edeka. Prior to this, Edeka CEO Markus Mosa and Rewe CEO Alain Caparros had been struggling to divide the individual branch offices in three semifinals, headed by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD).
Economic Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Verdi CEO Frank Bsirske announced the breakthrough at Montagnachmittag at a press conference in Berlin. According to Gabriel, the approximately 16,000 jobs in the chain of supermarkets are secured for a period of at least seven years. By Friday, the financial part of the agreement is to be negotiated, at the end of which a balance of interests between Edeka and Rewe should be placed. "I do not believe there can be any stumbling block for the implementation of the conciliation agreement," said Gabriel.
The controversy over Tengelmann was a monthly patience game
Tengelmann owner Karl-Erivan Haub wanted to sell his company to Edeka from the very beginning. However, the Federal Cartel Office initially prohibited the deal. After all, Minister of Economics Gabriel wanted to enable the takeover by means of a so-called ministerial permit - thus securing the 16,000 jobs. But the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf stopped the ministerial permit after a complaint from the Edeka competitors Rewe, Norma and Markant.
Haub finally lost patience and began to offer the individual branches for sale. The employees of Tengelmann have since been worried about their jobs. The branches in Munich and Berlin are considered lucrative locations. But many shops - especially in North Rhine-Westphalia - are not doing well. Also, because Tengelmann owner Haub had hardly invested in the business for many years.
In the end, once again, the market chains Norma and Markant withdrew their complaint against the ministerial license. However, the takeover can only be carried out if Rewe, as the third applicant, finally withdraws his complaint against the ministerial license.
