Priceline's acquisition of Kayak has received approval from the Britain's Office of Fair Trading.
Tnooz recently shared an opinion piece by Dorian Harris, founder of hotel booking site Skoosh, on the viewpoint about "why the Priceline plan to buy Kayak should be investigated by regulators."
The merger had been delayed pending the review and now will go forward. The proposed merger's closing date is slated for May 21.
Priceline and Kayak conduct a large share of business in Europe and thus are subject to antitrust reviews by regulatory bodies in the UK and the European Union.
The result of a merger review by OFT could have led the UK government to seek remedies like forced asset sales. The US Justice Department green-lit the acquisition at the start of the year.
BREAKING... Will update as the full announcement becomes available.
The UK regulator recently declined to investigate Expedia’s acquisition of Trivago.
Priceline's earnings will be announced after the closing bell in the US stock exchanges today. Kayak's operating profit margin was 14% last year because is paid by advertising clicks, compared with Priceline, which had 35% margins, driven largely by its flat booking fees.
This year Priceline joined the Fortune 500 for the first time.