The European Commission’s decision to investigate Airtours’ bid for First Choice was a victory for the Association of Independent Tour Operators which has campaigned doggedly for the small guy.
The Office of Fair Trading, which has got the travel industry at the top of its agenda, was also very influential with Brussels.
The question is, what will happen now? The EC was not prepared to make a decision in the 21 days before Airtours’ bid was due to lapse, so the company had no alternative but to walk away from the deal.
It would have been madness to go ahead with the purchase and stomach any decision which the EC made. The EC could have forced Airtours to sell off First Choice – which the Helmshore operator would have had to do at a knockdown price.
Airtours says if there is a “satisfactory outcome” to the investigation, it will be back for First Choice. So First Choice shareholders have to decide whether to wait for Airtours or go for the Kuoni merger.
Airtours’ bid for First Choice is clearly better for shareholders than a tie-up with Kuoni. But as First Choice group managing director Peter Long says, it is only preferable if it is “do-able”.
First Choice shareholders have to decide whether a bird in the hand in the form of Kuoni is preferable to Airtours lurking in the bush.
JeremySkidmore – editor