Commission approves acquisition by Lufthansa of Air Berlin subsidiary LGW, subject to conditions

Further information:

The Commission decision only concerns Lufthansa's proposed acquisition of LGW. This is because Lufthansa decided to drop the rest of the initially proposed transaction, i.e. its acquisition of NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH ('NIKI'), during the course of the Commission's merger review process.

The initial transaction was notified to the Commission on 31 October 2017. Following Lufthansa's decision to drop NIKI, the Commission limited its investigation to the impact of the remaining part of the transaction.

The decision was conditional on Lufthansa's compliance with commitments to avoid competition distortions.

Background information:

Following several years of financial difficulties, Air Berlin filed for insolvency in August 2017. Air Berlin's insolvency administrator then launched a sale of Air Berlin assets through a bidding process, with a deadline to submit binding bids by 15 September 2017.

Air Berlin's insolvency administrator received a number of bids for various parts of Air Berlin. On 25 September 2017, the insolvency administrator announced their decision to continue negotiations exclusively with Lufthansa for most of Air Berlin's assets, including LGW and NIKI.

Air Berlin entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Lufthansa on 12 October to acquire NIKI, LGW and a collection of additional Air Berlin aircraft, crew and slots at several EU airports, in particular in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. These assets were transferred to LGW. This sale and purchase agreement also gave Lufthansa the option to drop NIKI from the scope of the acquisition. Lufthansa chose to exercise that option on 13 December 2017, leading to NIKI filing for insolvency on the same day.

The European Commission approved on 21 December 2017, under the EU Merger's Regulation, Lufthansa's proposed acquisition of certain Air Berlin assets, through the entity Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter GmbH ('LGW').

• Primary Source

EurActiv, 22.12.17: Lufthansa’s Air Berlin buyout secures EU blessing http://www.euractiv.com/section/competition/news/lufthansas-air-berlin-buyout-secures-eu-blessing/

The Local Germany, 21.12.17: EU approves Lufthansa buyout of Air Berlin assets https://www.thelocal.de/20171221/lufthansa-eyes-eu-green-light-for-air-berlin-spoils

Reuters, 21.12.17: EU Commission clears Lufthansa's acquisition of Air Berlin assets https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1EF1Q6

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