Norwegian’s acquisition of Wideroe gets approval

The acquisition of Norwegian regional airline Wideroe by Norwegian can go ahead. Konkurransetilsynet, the Norwegian Competition Authority, approved the plan on Thursday. This follows after the authority raised concerns a month earlier and said that it might even consider blocking the acquisition.

On July 6, Norwegian announced its intention

to acquire Wideroe for NOK 11.25 billion ($106 million). Wideroe has a strong position in Norway’s domestic market, operating on 85 of the 107 domestic routes. “Linking Wideroe’s wide-spanning regional route network with Norwegian’s attractive domestic and international routes, secures a customer offering with better connectivity and seamless end-to-end experience,” Norwegian said in July.

The airlines notified the Competition Authority in August, which replied in September that it needed to assess the implications of the acquisition. On November 17, the Authority informed the two airlines that it might prohibit the acquisition. It was concerned that the two would become too dominant in the Norwegian domestic market and weaken competition.