European Commission clears WDF sale

Nicole Mezzasalma

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The Commission said the transaction would not significantly impact competition in the European Economic Area

The European Commission (EC) has approved Autogrill’s acquisition of UK travel retailer World Duty Free (WDF) under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission said the transaction “would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it”. Autogrill emerged as the winner of the bidding for the BAA retail subsidiary and acquired the remaining 49.95% of Spanish retailer Aldeasa in March for a combined sum of over $1.5bn. The Italian group also owns Alpha Airport Group.

The EC said in a statement: “The Commission's investigation showed that the merged entity, although it would become the leading player in airport travel-retail, would continue to face a number of important competitive constraints, both in bidding for retail concessions at airports and in the operation of airport shops. There are several strong international players that actively participate in tenders for airport retail concessions as well as numerous smaller local and regional airport retailers.

“In addition, unlike Autogrill, WDF has not been an active bidder in tenders for airport retail concessions. Finally, the Commission's investigation confirmed that switching costs for airport operators were low, whilst the entry of numerous high-street stores and brands in various airports across the EEA illustrates that the airport retailing market is competitive,” it concluded.

Autogrill said in a statement that it expects the deal to be completed on May 21.