Laurent Ayache
During this seminar, two main topics will be discussed concerning the Seloger.com decision of 1 February: firstly, the characteristics and specificities of the relevant market selected by the Authority, namely the national market for online real estate classified ads; and secondly, the lessons of the competitive analysis carried out by the Authority which led it to authorise the concentration unconditionally.
With regard to the definition of the relevant market, the analysis conducted by the Authority in its Decision has at least two specific features and appears to be full of ’nuances’. Indeed, while the Authority has defined as relevant a single market for online real estate classifieds services, it is in fact - the Authority tells us - a two-sided market with one side where _GoBack<- meets[_GoBack<- and the other side where _GoBack<- meets _GoBack<-.] This is a meeting place for advertisers and the electronic platform, and a meeting place for the platform and Internet users looking for accommodation. Furthermore, while defining this relevant market as a national market, the Authority considered at the same time that the competitive analysis should also be carried out on local segments, including in particular those in the Ile-de-France and PACA regions.