The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided to defer its final decision about the American Express GBT/CWT until March 9 2025 at the latest.
It had initially planned to release its final report on January 26 but says the completion of its investigation will not be possible within the original reference period.
“In taking this decision, the Inquiry Group has balanced the available resources against the nature and the complexity of the work outstanding, appreciating also the need to be as comprehensive, thorough, and fair as possible within the statutory timeframe,” said a CMA statement.
Giving more detail, it said it has written to Amex GBT and CWT to clarify the methodology of a survey the two companies have commissioned which was not disclosed to the CMA until November 27 2024.
Martin Coleman, Inquiry Group Chair, said the survey-related work involves specialist staff and this has had a consequential impact on the timing of the investigation.
Since the CMA raised its concerns, the US Justice Department (DoJ) has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to stop the deal.
Filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit argues that the proposed $570 million deal – the fifth acquisition by Amex GBT since 2018 – would harm competition for business travel management services to US global and multinational businesses.
