Ex-post evaluation of three sequential merger decisions in the Dutch grocery sector (Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets – ACM)

Lear performed a detailed quantitative assessment of the ex-post effects of three sequential merger decisions involving competing supermarkets chains. Lear’s team identified and collected all the relevant data on the affected markets and developed a methodology to assess the effect of the mergers on prices, product variety and ancillary services. One of the novelties of this study consists in evaluating the impact of a merger on non-price dimensions such as the depth of products’ assortment. The study also provides an empirical strategy to identify the impact of the remedies (stores’ divestitures) on the competitiveness of the market.

PUBLICATION: Merger in the Dutch grocery sector: an ex-post evaluation