EU approves Autogrill's buy of WDF from Ferrovial

Fri May 16, 2008 4:49pm BST

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italy's Autogrill (AGL.MI) won permission from the European Commission to buy the World Duty Free airport retail business of Spain's Ferrovial (FER.MC) for an enterprise value of 543.5 million pounds.

"The merged entity, although it would become the leading player in airport travel retail, would continue to face a number of important competitive constraints, both in bidding for retail concessions at airports and in the operation of airport shops," the EU competition watchdog said in a statement on Friday.

Autogrill, which operates restaurants on motorways and in airports, already has a global reach from Canada to India in the lucrative travel retail and duty-free business.

Autogrill is 57.1 percent controlled by Italy's Benetton family through a holding company.

(Reporting by David Lawsky; Editing by Dale Hudson)

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