Having weighed up the restriction on competition against the public interest considerations put forward, the Monopolies Commission has concluded that the merger proposed by Holtzbrinck should not be authorised. In its analysis, the Monopolies Commission concludes that the restriction of competition identified by the Office would be appreciable on the market for subscription-based daily newspapers in Berlin. The proposed merger would afford the merging parties scope for conduct not subject to competitive constraints. At present, the *Berliner Zeitung*, the *Berliner Morgenpost* and the *Tagesspiegel* compete with one another in the eastern and western parts of Berlin. A merger would remove the incentives for both daily newspapers to attract readers from the other newspaper. The applicant’s arguments regarding the public interest ground of safeguarding jobs are not convincing. The forecasts comparing scenarios with and without a merger are subject to a number of conditions. No reliable conclusions can be drawn regarding the development of jobs at the *Tagesspiegel* and the *Berliner Zeitung*. The causality required to establish a public interest ground could not be demonstrated.