The Competition Authority announced on Wednesday that it was opening an in-depth examination of the takeover of the furniture and decoration group Conforama by Mobilux.
In a critical financial situation, Conforama was sold in September 2020 to the parent company of its competitor But, which claims second place in the market after Ikea.
It had been controlled since 2011 by the South African group Steinhoff.
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"
The Authority considers that the proposed transaction requires the opening of a phase of in-depth examination
", she explains in a press release, specifying that this phase could last for a period of 65 working days, possibly extendable. This should in particular make it possible to determine whether “
competitive stimulation
” remains “
sufficient
”, in order to ensure that suppliers are not “
in a situation of economic dependence
” on the new group.
The competition policeman also intends to analyze whether this operation is "
essential to avoid any closure of Conforama stores
".
In accordance with the request of both parties, the European Commission referred the examination of this takeover to the French Competition Authority on June 29, 2020. The Mobilux group is present in France through its 302 But stores and its website.
It is controlled by a subsidiary of the Clayton investment fund, which has stakes in groups active in the furniture sector abroad.
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The buyout allowed Mobilux to take over the 172 Conforama and Confo stores! as well as all the liabilities from the Steinhoff years. At the time of the sale of Conforama, Alain Souillard, then president of the group, had praised “
the constitution of an alliance between the two main French distributors of furniture in France.
"This new alliance had, for Mr. Souillard, the ambition to compete with the other giants of the sector and" to
support the hexagonal sector of the furniture.
"
