The European Commission seems to want to block the takeover of the Swedish group eTraveli by Booking Holding. This is a transaction which was to amount to 1.67 billion euros.
Booking will continue its collaboration
The official decision could be announced by the end of the month, but Booking Holding is expected to appeal. The group would then announce an extension of its partnership with eTraveli Group until 2028.
Booking wants to develop in air reservations
Booking is interested in eTraveli’s flight technology to expand Amsterdam-based Booking.com’s airline business. eTraveli Group, meanwhile, owns several consumer brands, including MyTrip, GoToGate, FlightNetwork and SuperSaver.
“Given the strategic importance of flights to our travel offering, we believe it is essential to integrate Etraveli’s flight expertise and technology in-house while eliminating some of the limitations that exist in our agreement current business,” said Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings.
Hotel room reservations can be transformed into dynamic packaging
However, the European Commission is expected to oppose the partnership, citing competition in online hotel sales as a concern, where Booking.com is a leader. According to the commission, the eTraveli deal would strengthen Booking.com in hotel sales as a growing number of travelers would be offered hotel deals when purchasing airline tickets.
Concessions are not enough
The European Commission was not even convinced that Booking.com offered concessions such as using the Kayak brand to show its customers its competitors’ hotel deals. A series of signals have also led to this decision since last October, when regulators decided to apply a stricter approach to the deal.
