The German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has closed its investigation into Deutsche Post after nearly two years of inquiries.

The former postal monopoly and two other companies have severed their ties in the area of mail consolidation, the Cartel Office announced on Monday. The investigation has therefore come to an end. "We welcome the decision by the Federal Cartel Office to close the proceedings," a Deutsche Post spokesperson said. The company believes this outcome confirms its view that it did not violate competition law.

The Bonn-based regulator had launched a cartel investigation in July 2023 against Deutsche Post subsidiary Deutsche Post InHaus Services and competitors Postcon and Compador. At the time, the authority stated that it was examining possible anti-competitive agreements between the Post subsidiary and the two other companies in the field of so-called mail consolidation services. Mail consolidators offer business clients the service of collecting their bulk mail, pre-sorting it, and transporting it to Deutsche Post sorting centers, where it is then fed into the postal network. Deutsche Post, through its InHaus Services subsidiary, is a major player in this sector. Competitors have repeatedly accused the former monopoly of hindering fair competition. "The business model of mail consolidation provides an important competitive stimulus in the business client letter market, challenging the dominant Deutsche Post AG," said Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt.

However, Deutsche Post is facing further disputes with competitors elsewhere. Rival company DVS has accused the Bonn-based group of systematically suppressing competition in the business mail segment. DVS has filed a cartel lawsuit against Deutsche Post, claiming damages of around one billion euros.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi, editing by Ralf Banser. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).