The Belgian Competition Authority has also approved the acquisition of Hema by Mississippi Ventures, the investment vehicle of the Van Eerd family. The shareholders now want to explore how Hema and Jumbo can strengthen each other.
“Making our customers even happier”
In January, the Dutch competition authority ACM had already approved the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Hema shares by the Van Eerd family, and now the Belgian competition watchdog has done the same. Partly due to the limited market position of the parties and the limited overlap of their activities, the notified concentration does not give rise to any objections, according to the BMA in a press release on Wednesday.
This marks the start of a new phase of shareholding for Hema within the Van Eerd Retail holding company, which also includes Jumbo, the department store chain said in a press release. After completion, both chains will look at how they can work even more closely together.
“Hema is starting its 100th anniversary from a very strong position. Now that we have received approval from the necessary authorities and positive advice from Hema’s works council, this also means the green light to further explore where Hema and Jumbo Supermarkets, as two independently operating strong brands, can reinforce each other. In the coming period, teams from Hema and Jumbo will continue to explore how we can make our customers even happier,” says Colette Cloosterman-van Eerd, chair of Van Eerd Retail.
