BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Germany's Otto, the world's largest mail-order company, won conditional European Union approval on Tuesday to buy the Russian business and trademark rights of Quelle, an insolvent mail-order company.
Quelle, part of Arcandor's mail-order operation Primondo, went bust after failing to find a new investor. A source close to the negotiations told Reuters Otto paid somewhere between 10 and 99 million euros for the acquisition.
Otto, with annual sales of about 200 million euros in Russia, says it is the market leader in that country.
'In order to address the competition concerns identified by the Commission, Otto offered to divest trademarks such as Webschatz, Universum or Casamaxx,' the European Commission said in a statement.
The European Union executive said the buyer of the trademarks would have the right to use the Quelle customer data to the same extent and under the same conditions as Otto.
The Commission's decision also covers Otto's takeover of Quelle Russia.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) Keywords: ARCANDO OTTO/EU (foo.yunchee@thomsonreuters.com; tel +32 2 287 6844; Reuters Messaging: foo.yunchee.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Quelle, part of Arcandor's mail-order operation Primondo, went bust after failing to find a new investor. A source close to the negotiations told Reuters Otto paid somewhere between 10 and 99 million euros for the acquisition.
Otto, with annual sales of about 200 million euros in Russia, says it is the market leader in that country.
'In order to address the competition concerns identified by the Commission, Otto offered to divest trademarks such as Webschatz, Universum or Casamaxx,' the European Commission said in a statement.
The European Union executive said the buyer of the trademarks would have the right to use the Quelle customer data to the same extent and under the same conditions as Otto.
The Commission's decision also covers Otto's takeover of Quelle Russia.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) Keywords: ARCANDO OTTO/EU (foo.yunchee@thomsonreuters.com; tel +32 2 287 6844; Reuters Messaging: foo.yunchee.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.