The European Commission has vetoed the proposed merger of Greek airlines Olympic and Aegean.
The commission said, “Together the two carriers control more than 90% of the Greek domestic air transport market and the Commission’s investigation showed no realistic prospects that a new airline of a sufficient size would enter the routes and restrain the merged entity’s pricing.”
EU competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia said, “The merger between Aegean and Olympic would have led to a quasi-monopoly in Greece and thus to higher prices and lower quality of service for Greeks and tourists travelling between Athens and the islands.”
Aegean notified the commission of its intent to take over Olympic Airlines in July, following which, the commission launched an investigation into the proposed deal.
The Aegean-Olympic merger is the first take over to be opposed by the EU since the commission blocked Irish carrier Ryanair’s proposed acquisition of rival Aer Lingus in 2007.
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