A Retrospective Merger Analysis in the Long-Distance Bus Industry in France

Thierry Blayac (1, 2) , Patrice Bougette (3)

1 UM - Université de Montpellier
2 CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010
3 GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion

This study estimates the price effects of horizontal mergers in the French long-distance bus industry. We examine two mergers that followed the 2015 deregulation Act of the Macron Law. Using a unique and exhaustive database, we identify price effects by comparing bus routes affected by mergers to unaffected routes using difference-in-difference estimations with propensity score matching. We find that the two mergers following industry deregulation seem to be associated with price increases and no efficiency gains. Those price increases are diminishing over time.

Mots clés: Long-distance bus industry; M&A; Deregulated industries; Consolidation; Macron Law; Difference-in-difference estimation; Ex-post analysis

Domaines: Economies et finances

Thierry Blayac, Patrice Bougette. A Retrospective Merger Analysis in the Long-Distance Bus Industry in France. Conference of the International Transportation Economics Association (ITEA), Jun 2018, Hong Kong, China. ⟨halshs-01839981⟩