Austrian furniture retailer XXXLutz's German deal hit by EU antitrust investigation

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - EU antitrust investigators opened an investigation into XXXLutz's proposed acquisition of German peer Porta on Monday, saying the deal may significantly affect competition in several EU countries, which could then require the Austrian furniture retailer to offer remedies to address its concerns. 

Family-owned XXXLutz, whose brands include XXXLutz, Mömax, Roller, Braun, Home24 and Möbelix, and which also sells electronics and appliances, announced the deal in January 2025. 

The companies are two of the largest furniture retailers in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The deal would combine more than 140 furniture stores under Porta's brands with XXXLutz's more than 1,800 stores in several EU countries.

The European Commission, which is the EU's competition enforcer, said its preliminary review of the deal signalled some concerns, especially for furniture sold in discount stores.

"Within these markets, the transaction may remove important competitive constraints between the companies, as they are among the few players in Germany, Czechia and Slovakia operating furniture retail store networks offering the full range of furniture," the Commission said in a statement. 

It said manufacturers and suppliers in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland may also be affected by the deal due to XXXLutz's purchasing association GIGA International which gives the company significant purchasing power.

The EU set a February 25 deadline for its decision. 

XXXLutz Germany Chief Executive Alois Kobler said the company was committed to the merger.

"We have prepared thoroughly for this final stage of the process to ensure we can comprehensively address the European Commission's questions," he said in a statement.

Porta Group Chief Executive Paul de Jong said the deal will benefit customers.

XXXLutz found itself in antitrust regulators' crosshairs in July, when the EU opened a separate investigation into whether it had implemented the deal without first securing their approval. The company could face a hefty fine of as much as 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty of jumping the gun.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Bart Meijer and David Gaffen)