BONN, February 11, 2026 – The German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has completed its antitrust review of the “Fit-For-Future” (FFF) working group’s plans to reform the German press distribution system (Presse-Grosso) and will not take further action after securing significant improvements to the original model.
The proposed reform foresees the establishment of a single central press wholesaler, the Presse-Grosso-Allianz (PGA), which would replace the current 13 regional wholesalers operating as monopolists in their respective territories. The PGA will be owned by a holding company comprising publishing shareholders and wholesalers. It will handle the purchase and sale of press products and commission regional system partners to carry out logistics.
According to Bundeskartellamt President Andreas Mundt, the authority’s assessment focused on ensuring non-discriminatory distribution for all publishers and maintaining nationwide availability of press products, including in less densely populated regions. Following several market consultations, the revised concept was found to meet these requirements. Distribution conditions for press products are also secured until the end of 2030.
The Presse-Grosso system supplies newspapers and magazines to retail outlets across Germany and is based on industry-wide agreements between publishers and wholesalers concerning supply, conditions and territorial allocation, arrangements that may fall under the cartel prohibition. Although multiple wholesalers currently operate, each acts as a monopolist within its distribution area and does not compete with others.
The system has been granted a statutory exemption under German competition law since 2013 to safeguard media plurality and nationwide supply, subject to conditions including non-discriminatory access, fair participation for all publishers and limitations on competitive restrictions to what is strictly necessary.
The authority also emphasized the importance of strengthening the influence of smaller publishers. All publishers will be able to participate in the PGA, either directly or indirectly depending on size. An independent clearing body will be established to handle complaints from retailers and publishers, and the composition of press assortments will be managed by a separate, publisher-independent company to ensure neutrality.
Implementation of the reform involves the creation of several companies, which were reviewed and cleared under German merger control rules.
