Background
      
            

On 12 September 2024, Aéroports de Paris notified the Autorité de la concurrence of its plan to acquire sole control of the Paris Expérience group. 



Following an examination of the effects of the transaction on the markets concerned, the Autorité has cleared the acquisition without conditions.
      
      

                
          
        
            Parties to the transaction



Aéroports de Paris (ADP) is a French limited company (société anonyme) controlled by the French State and in charge of constructing, operating and developing airport facilities in the Île-de-France region (mainly Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly and Paris-Le Bourget). In addition to making its infrastructure available to airlines, ADP also operates the commercial sites (shops and restaurants) and advertising space and facilities located in its airports.



Paris Expérience is active in the tourist hospitality sector. In particular, the group provides excursions and visits to sites and historical monuments in France, primarily in Paris. Paris Expérience also offers dinner cruises, as well as private and corporate receptions on boats moored on the Seine. 

The Autorité ruled out any risk of harm to competition in the markets concerned



The Autorité considered that, even if the transaction enabled ADP to promote the activities of Paris Expérience to foreign tourists arriving in France by air on its advertising space and facilities in Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports, the transaction was not likely to harm competition.



Although ADP, via Extime Média, holds an operating monopoly on advertising space and facilities located in Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports, the Autorité considered that such a strategy would be unlikely to negatively affect competition. Advertising space in airports is not an essential promotional channel, either for the target or for its competitors, particularly as most of the target’s customers book its services before arriving in France.



Following its competitive analysis, the Autorité therefore cleared the without conditions.
      
      
      

                
          
        
          
            24-DCC-209 of 4 October 2024 
      
          
            on the acquisition of sole control of the Paris Expérience group by Aéroports de Paris
      
        
                  
            
            The full text of the decision (in French) will be made available online once th…
      
          
              
      

                
          
  
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            Nicola Crawford
      
      
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            +33155040151
      
      
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French Antitrust Authority Approves Aéroports de Paris Acquisition of Paris Expérience Group

Aéroports de Paris (ADP) sought to acquire sole control of the Paris Expérience group, known for providing tourist hospitality services in France, including excursions, visits, and dinner cruises primarily in Paris.

The Autorité de la concurrence found that the acquisition would not harm competition, despite ADP's control over advertising space in Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports, as airport advertising was not deemed essential for competition in this case.

After conducting a competitive analysis, the Autorité cleared the acquisition without imposing any conditions.



French Antitrust Authority Approves Aéroports de Paris Acquisition of Paris Expérience Group

The Autorité de la concurrence has cleared Aéroports de Paris' acquisition of the Paris Expérience group in the tourism sector without conditions.