Booking loses court fight against EU veto of ETraveli deal

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Booking Holdings on Wednesday lost its fight against an EU antitrust veto of its €1.63 billion ($1.90 billion) ETraveli acquisition three years ago, as Europe's second-highest court sided with regulators.

The European Commission, in its 2023 decision, said the deal would have created a travel ecosystem for Booking, leaving rivals unable to compete.

The Luxembourg-based General Court agreed with the EU competition enforcer and rejected Booking's arguments that the Commission had not followed its own merger rules, and had applied an incorrect legal standard.

"The Commission found, correctly, that the acquisition of Etraveli Group, Europe's leading online flight booking operator, would have strengthened Booking's already dominant position on the market for online travel agencies in the hotel sector," judges said.

Booking said it may appeal to Europe's top court.

"We're incredibly disappointed. We disagree with the outcome and remain firmly of the view that the Commission's assessment was wrong, both on the facts and on the law," a Booking spokesperson said.

"We are reviewing the judgment and a possible appeal to the European Court of Justice."

The Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, has increased its scrutiny of tech deals in recent years due to concerns over "killer acquisitions", where dominant firms buy smaller rivals to eliminate competition or strengthen their market position.

Booking's brands include Booking.com, Rentalcars, Priceline and Agoda. Swedish rival ETraveli, which is owned by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, owns Gotogate and Mytrip and also operates airline content distribution services provider TripStack.

The case is T-1139/23 Booking Holdings v Commission.

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(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Jan Harvey)