EU antitrust regulators have extended their deadline for a decision on online travel agency Booking Holdings' €1.63 billion acquisition by a week to 6 September, a European Commission filing showed on Monday 10 July.
Details
Booking CEO Glenn Fogel and and ETraveli CEO Mathias Hedlund sought to win over the EU competition enforcer at a closed hearing in Brussels last week.
Given EU concerns the deal could reduce competition, Booking, whose brands include Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable, may have to offer remedies in the coming days.
Additional Information
Last month, the Commission warned that the deal would reinforce Booking's market power and push up costs for hotels.
Travel Agency Booking To Defend ETraveli Deal At EU Hearing
The above news follows last week's news that online travel agency Booking Holdings would on Friday 7 July try to convince European Union antitrust regulators to allow its €1.63 billion acquisition of Sweden's ETraveli Group, despite concerns it could hurt competition.
Booking announced its bid for peer ETraveli, owner of the brands Gotogate and Mytrip and operator of airline content distribution services provider TripStack, in November 2021. Etraveli is owned by private equity firm CVC Capital.
The European Commission said last month the deal will make it harder for rivals to compete with market leader Booking, by reinforcing its position in hotels and further expanding its reach into travel services like flights and car rentals.
Read More: Travel Agency Booking To Defend ETraveli Deal At EU Hearing
News by Reuters, edited by Hospitality Ireland. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
