On 3 April, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of the European business of Lufthansa Service Group (LSG) by Gategroup.
The approval is conditional on full compliance with the commitments offered by Gategroup.
As a result of this transaction, Gategroup would acquire sole control of the European business of LSG (LSG EU) by way of purchase of shares and assets. The transaction excludes LSG's retail on-board business.
The Commission's investigation found that the transaction, as initially notified, would have led to a quasi-monopoly or left at most only one remaining viable competitor in the markets for in-flight catering services at Brussels, Berlin-Tegel, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Rome Fiumicino airports.
Gategroup committed to divest the overlap businesses in order to facilitate the entry or expansion of competing in-flight caterers at the airports where competition concerns were identified. The divested businesses include customer in-flight catering contracts as well as facilities, other tangible assets such as high-loaders, personnel and certain intangible assets.
Gategroup is headquartered in Switzerland and provides airline catering services in approximately 60 countries. LSG EU is the European business of the LSG Group, which is headquartered in Germany and part of the Lufthansa Group. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)