Swissport Successful in Antitrust Case with CMS

CMS Achieves Clearance by German and Austrian Antitrust Authorities

Brussels/Vienna – The Austrian antitrust authorities have cleared the proposed joint venture of Swissport and DLH Fuel Company mbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The German competition authority had already approved the merger several days prior to the Austrian decision. The joint venture will deliver fuelling services at ten German and two Austrian airports. In the course of the transaction, Swissport takes over a major stake in AFS Aviation Fuel Services GmbH from Air BP, acquiring sole operational and financial control.

A CMS team headed by the Brussels-based antitrust expert Michael Bauer as lead partner advised Swissport on all antitrust-law aspects of the transaction and handled and coordinated the necessary notification procedures in Germany and Austria. Antitrust expert Dieter Zandler supervised the notification procedures at the Austrian competition authorities. The German and Austrian competition authorities and the Austrian federal cartel prosecutor cleared the proceedings already in the first examination phase.

Swissport is among the leading providers of ground services for passengers and cargo at airports the world over. With about 60,000 employees, Swissport is active at more than 255 locations in 44 countries on five continents and generates consolidated operating revenue of CHF 3.0 billion. Through the joint venture, Swissport will extend its fuelling services and offer an even wider range of services to its customers.

AFS has specialised in airport fuelling services and airport tank storage facility management in Germany and Austria since 1986 and is the largest provider of into-plane fuelling services in Germany.

Lufthansa is Germany’s largest airline. The company offers scheduled flights and cargo transport services as well as related services. In 2014, 60 million passengers travelled with Lufthansa in a global route network comprising 235 destinations in 78 countries. Lufthansa has stakes in several fuelling companies in Germany via its wholly owned subsidiary DLH Fuel Company mbH.