10/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 10 March, the European Commission authorised the proposed acquisition by TUI AG (« TUI », Germany) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (“RCL”, USA) for sole control of TUI Cruises GmbH (“TUI Cruises”, Germany). This operation will be through the purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture. The companies' activities are: TUI - navigation and tourism; RCL -organisation and provision of cruises; TUI Cruises - organisation and provision of cruises to German-speaking customers. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. (O.L.)