WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department sued on Tuesday to block travel technology firm Sabre Corp’s $360 million acquisition of Farelogix Inc, saying in court papers that it was a “dominant firm’s attempt to eliminate a disruptive competitor.”
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, said the firms compete head-to-head to provide booking services to airlines, including offering IT solutions that allow airlines to sell tickets and ancillary products through traditional brick-and-mortar and online travel agencies to the traveling public.
The suit says Sabre was “so threatened” by Farelogix’s next-generation technology standard that in 2013 it urged the U.S. Transportation Department to block approval of the standard. It cites text messages between Sabre executives that the deal would “entrench us more.”