The European Commission has approved the takeover by German retailer Rewe-Zentral of Switzerland’s Bon Appetit Group.

Rewe is purchasing Curti & Co, which owns around 53% of Bon Appetit, for US$118.2m. Rewe is also to offer Bon Appetit’s minority shareholders CHF60.80 (US$42.7) per share.

Rewe is Germany’s second-largest food retailer and operates around 9,000 stores there.

“Bringing Bon Appetit into our group allows us to bridge the gap from Germany to Italy, from France to Austria in our country portfolio,” Rewe chief executive Hans Reischl was quoted by Dow Jones International News as saying.