Sabre and Farelogix $360M merger deal cancelled

An April 9 decision by the U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority has killed the planned merger between Sabre and Farelogix.

This morning Sabre president and CEO Sean Menke announced the agreement is off, citing the U.K. decision that prohibited the transaction as the reason.

“Sabre and Farelogix have agreed to terminate the parties’ merger agreement, which expired at midnight on April 30. We continue to believe that the transaction was not anti-competitive, a result confirmed by the U.S. federal district court’s decision in Sabre’s favor," Menke says.

"Unfortunately, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – acting outside the bounds of its jurisdictional authority – has prohibited the transaction. We strongly disagree with the CMA’s decision."

Sabre initially announced its plan to acquire Farelogix for $360 million in November 2018.

It had long maintained that the deal had benefits for airlines as well as the wider travel management community in terms of the ability to access ancillary elements and personalize for corporate clients.

The company says it will remain committed to a long-term strategy of "creating a new market for personalized travel."

It adds: "We are uniquely situated to create solutions that expand the distribution access of rich content via the Global Distribution System (GDS) marketplace and also help airlines create personalized offers for their customers, including the development of NDC-enabled solutions."

And in a separate statement from Farelogix, the company says, “We are disappointed that our plan to join with Sabre is not going forward. However, due to the inherent uncertainty with any regulatory process, we have been well prepared for this possibility. Over the past eighteen months, we have made great strides in advancing our technology infrastructure, optimizing our product delivery, streamlining our operational processes, and implementing new customers."

On April 7, a U.S. court decided in favor of the deal, ruling against a U.S. Department of Justice claim that the merger – at a cost of $360 million for Sabre – would eliminate competition and result in higher prices for consumers and less innovation for airlines.