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

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, Oct 12 (Reuters) — EU antitrust investigators opened a full-scale investigation into Austrian furniture retailer XXXLutz's proposed acquisition of German peer Porta on Monday, saying the deal may significantly impact competition in several EU countries, a move which could require XXXLutz to offer remedies to address their concerns. XXXLutz, whose brands include XXXLutz, Mömax, Roller, Braun, Home24 and Möbelix and also sells electronics and appliances in addition to furniture and household goods announced the deal in January 2025. The European Commission, which is the EU competition enforcer, said its preliminary review of the deal signalled some concerns especially in the market for the retail sale of furniture 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 impacted by the deal due to XXXLutz's pur