by Juan Rodriguez and Marielena Doeding

SUMMARY

On 9 April 2020, the UK Competition and Market’s Authority (“CMA”) issued its final report prohibiting the proposed acquisition of Farelogix, Inc. (“Farelogix”) by Sabre Corporation (“Sabre”) (the “Transaction”). The CMA’s decision comes only two days after Judge Leonard Stark of the U.S. District Court in Delaware dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) seeking to block the Transaction.

The CMA’s decision is notable because it demonstrates the CMA’s willingness to take a bold stance even when reviewing a merger that lacks an obvious jurisdictional link to the UK, and in the face of a conflicting litigated outcome in a U.S. court. Sabre/Farelogix also serves as a stark reminder of the increased focus by antitrust regulators on the importance of innovation in the technology sector, and on the protection of “nascent competition”, as well as the practical impact of the antitrust conceptions of “two-sided markets” in the UK and in the U.S. Continue reading →