A US judge has set a trial date of 8 September following the DOJ’s lawsuit to block American Express Global Business Travel’s acquisition of CWT.
US District Court judge Victor Marrero rejected a request from Amex GBT and CWT for the trial to start in May with the two TMCs adding that they needed to “get a decision in this case no later than June”, according to a report by BTN Europe’s sister publication The Beat (subscription required).
Earlier this month, the US DOJ filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to block the merger on the grounds that it would harm competition for corporate travel management services for US global and multinational businesses
Judge Marrero last week denied the TMCs’ request for an “expedited case management conference”. He said in this ruling: “Given that one defendant (CWT) has not yet answered the complaint and the various pre-trial disputes outlined in the defendants’ letter, a later trial date is warranted.”
Disputes in the case include the TMCs requesting access to the DOJ’s investigation file, which features evidence from 175 third parties.
The TMCs are also waiting for a decision from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on whether it will allow or block the merger.
A decision had initially been scheduled by 26 January but has been delayed by the CMA to 9 March to allow the regulator more time to access new evidence, including Amex GBT’s independent survey of 1,500 customers.
BTN Europe has approached Amex GBT for a reaction to the latest developments.
• See also: Making headlines: a timeline of the proposed acquisition, as reported by BTN Europe.