BRIEF—Commission clears acquisition of Gehe by Alliance Healthcare

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Gehe Pharma Handel GmbH, Gehe Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG and Gehe Immobilien Verwaltungs-GmbH (“Gehe”) by Alliance Healthcare Deutschland, all of Germany.

Both Gehe and Alliance Healthcare are mainly active in pharmaceutical wholesaling in Germany and supply retail pharmacies in Germany.

The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns, either at national level or at regional level in the catchment areas around distribution warehouses across Germany.

This is because there will be a sufficient number of credible competitors available at national level and in each catchment area and the companies will face additional competitive pressure from direct sales of manufacturers after the transaction.

The transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure.