ACM: HAL Investments is allowed to own major office-furniture manufacturers Ahrend and Gispen

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has cleared the acquisition of the remaining shares in Dutch furniture manufacturer Gispen by Dutch investment company HAL Investments BV. HAL already owns 49 percent of shares in Gispen, as well as over 90 percent of shares in rival manufacturer Ahrend. ACM expects competition in the office furniture market to remain sufficient after the acquisition.

In its investigation, ACM examined, among other aspects, the bidders and winners of several office furniture tenders in recent years. Chris Fonteijn, Chairman of the Board of ACM, explains: ‘We see that other companies regularly win against these two manufacturers in tenders. Ahrend and Gispen do have a high combined market share, but those other companies are apparently tough competitors.’