The European Union’s anti-monopoly authorities have blocked Booking Holdings’ deal to acquire Swedish online hotel booking service ETraveli for $1.7 billion. reports Reuters agency.
The European Commission banned the merger after representatives of Booking Holdings failed to address the regulator’s concerns in court about the negative consequences of the company’s dominance in the market. The European Commission in this case acted as a responsible observer for competition in the markets of the 27 EU countries.
Didier Reynders, head of the EU competition authority, said that before making the decision, the European Commission surveyed approximately 15 thousand hotel and inn owners to find out the opinions of industry participants on the possible merger of Booking and ETraveli.
“Market participants were generally concerned that the deal would strengthen Booking’s dominance of the online booking market in the European Economic Area,” he said.
Also, according to the business community, the emergence of such a large player in the European market could lead to a decrease in hotel choice and an increase in the cost of services for consumers.
Booking considers the European Commission’s decision to be unlawful and plans to appeal the decision. The company also emphasized that the agreement had previously received unconditional approval in the US and UK.
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