The acquisition of Hotelplan Group by DERTOUR has been delayed, following an investigation by the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO).
DERTOUR’s acquisition of Hotelplan Group, which includes UK brands Inghams, Explore Worldwide, Inntravel and Santa’s Lapland, was announced in February.
The Swiss watchdog is now conducting an in-depth review of DERTOUR’s planned acquisition after initial investigations revealed concerns about a ‘dominant market position’ in Switzerland.
In a statement, the COMCO said: “The one-month preliminary review of this merger revealed indications of a dominant market position.
“The in-depth review is intended to clarify, among other things, whether travellers in Switzerland have sufficient alternatives available to them, such as self-booking directly with hotels and airlines or via online platforms, to counteract potentially rising prices.
“It will also examine the impact of digital travel offerings on current and potential competition in the markets.”
The Swiss watchdog will now spend four months reviewing the deal, which means a decision on the acquisition won’t be made until the autumn.
While the deal did not include Hotelplan’s holiday home specialist Interhome, which was sold to German-based HometoGo, neither deal can close until the regulator has approved Dertour’s transaction.
DERTOUR Group CEO Christoph Debus said: “Of course, we had hoped to receive clearance from the Swiss Competition Commission today. This would have allowed us to complete the acquisition promptly in order to jointly explore new opportunities for Hotelplan Group (excluding Interhome) as a member of our Group.
“Given the strong competition and diverse offerings in the Swiss travel market, we had no reason to expect an in-depth review by the Swiss Competition Commission. However, we will fully support and constructively cooperate with the Competition Commission in its review process.
“We are convinced that the acquisition would contribute to even broader and more attractive travel and vacation offers for Swiss consumers – while offering high reliability and quality. This would strengthen the diversity in the Swiss travel market to the benefit of travelers, regardless of how consumers book their travel. We therefore still assume that the Competition Commission will clear the acquisition.”
