EU General Court upholds Commission block of Booking's eTraveli acquisition
The General Court of the European Union dismissed Booking Holdings' challenge to the European Commission's block of its proposed acquisition of eTraveli Group AB, with the judgment issued on 9 September 2026.1
The court affirmed the Commission's reverse leveraging theory of harm, noting Booking's dominance in the EEA-wide hotel OTA market and that acquiring eTraveli would give it control over an important flight customer‑acquisition channel, and clarified that the Commission does not need to prove a substantial quantitative increase in market power for such transactions.1