EU reportedly to halt Booking-Etrveli €1.6B deal
EPA-EFE/KOEN VAN WEEL
The European Union regulators will block Booking Holding's €1.63 billion acquisition of Sweden's Etraveli Group due to fears that this transaction would have a direct impact on the competition, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
According to the report, the EU considers that the purchase of the Swedish flight-only company by Booking would further strengthen the position of the US travel website in the travel market, where the choice is already limited. Previously, antitrust authorities expressed their concerns that the acquisition would "strengthen Booking's dominant position in the hotel market further, increasing its bargaining position towards hotels and diverting demand from cheaper alternative sales channel."
Booking announced in 2021 its intention to buy Etraveli Group, and in 2022 the deal was approved by the United Kingdom's Competition and Market Authority.