Major supermarket chains Rewe and Edeka had held discussions on a division of the struggling Kasier’s Tengelmann grocery stores, but those talks did not go well. On Monday, Edeka, Kaiser’s Tengelmann and Rewe all agreed to have former Chancellor Schröder act as arbitrator. He will be supported by long-time chair of the Council of Experts, Bert Rürup.

The goal of the mediation is to reach an agreement between Rewe and Edeka which represents both of their interests. During the period of arbitration, the Kaiser stores cannot be taken over by a third party. This means, the imminent closing of the stores is postponed for now.

Tenglemann owner Karl-Erivan Haub wants to see a complete takeover by Edeka, which he sees as the only way to guarantee all the jobs. Rewe challenges that this would give the competitor a huge advantage in the market, and says the supermarket chain should be divided up fairly between Rewe and Edeka. Meanwhile, should things move in a different direction, discount market Lidl has indicated that it would be interested in taking over some of the locations. On Tuesday, the discounter said it was examining its options. (Orig. text: dpa)