The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an official inquiry into Sabre Holdings’ $360 million purchase of aviation technology firm Farelogix.
The CMA is to examine whether the deal, which was originally announced in November 2018, will create a “substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services”.
The UK’s competition watchdog is inviting comments on the potential impact of the Sabre-Farelogix transaction by 5 July. It will then make a decision by 16 August on whether to launch a deeper “Phase 2” investigation into the deal, which could delay the completion of the acquisition.
Sabre’s purchase of Farelogix, which the tech giant had originally hoped to complete in early 2019, has already been delayed by the US Department of Justice’s decision in February to look into the impact of the deal.
Miami-based Farelogix offers a range of Software-as-a-Solution (SaaS) products allowing airlines to create, control, optimise and deliver personalised and differentiated offers across sales channels.
sabre.com; farelogix.com