The EU Commission approves the takeover of Nuremberg-based consumer research company GfK by US-based consumer data and consumer research expert Nielsen IQ. The prerequisite for this is, among other things, that GfK’s consumer panel services are sold to a large extent, the authority announced. According to the competition watchdog, GfK is the leading provider of consumer panel services in the European Economic Area, which, in addition to the EU countries, also includes Norway, Lichtenstein and Iceland. Panel services provide, among other things, information about the behavior of customers. They provide data that shows, for example, which consumers bought a certain product more or less often.
The majority owner of GfK is to be the previous owner of Nielsen, the financial investor Advent. The financial investor KKR and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) are to remain invested as additional shareholders, it was said a year ago when the merger was announced. The companies want to use the merger to exploit new opportunities in trade and consumer analyses. Nielsen IQ and GfK want to bring together complementary data and analysis tools. In addition, new markets are to be opened up together.