Priceline’s pending $1.8 billion acquisition of travel metasearch site Kayak will be delayed by a review from UK competition regulators.
Kayak – Priceline deal held up by UK regulator
Priceline’s pending $1.8 billion acquisition of travel metasearch site Kayak will be delayed by a review from UK competition regulators.
The Office of Fair Trading is to review the deal in May.
Priceline had set a first-quarter deadline to finalise the acquisition after agreeing to buy Kayak last November.
US companies making acquisitions can be subject to antitrust reviews by regulators in the UK and the European Union if at least one of the companies does significant business there.
The majority of Kayak shareholders approved the buyout earlier this month .
A joint statement from the two companies said: “The closing of the merger will take place once the remaining conditions to closing – including the receipt of all required regulatory approvals – have been satisfied.”
They said they had been informed that the administrative deadline for the OFT’s review of the merger of Kayak with priceline.com is expected to be in May.
