On March 28, 2019, hospital operator Ameos Psychiatrie Holding (“Ameos”) withdrew its notification of the proposed acquisition of the majority stake in Sana Kliniken Ostholstein.^[1] After carrying out an in-depth investigation, the FCO preliminarily concluded that Ameos and Sana Kliniken would have obtained a dominant position on the regional market for stationary hospital services in Eastern Holstein. Eventually, the Carlyle Group—a US-based private equity company—which controls two investment funds of which Ameos and its largest competitor Schön Klinik are portfolio companies—would have controlled all general hospitals of the regional market in the eastern Holstein area.

[1]              FCO Press Release, “Hospital operators in Schleswig-Holstein and Cologne withdraw merger notifications in two cases after Bundeskartellamt expresses concerns”, April 4, 2019, available in English here.