Abstract:
We study effects on prices and quantities of a takeover in the rather concentrated German interurban bus industry. We empirically asses the effect of the takeover of Postbus by Flixbus on industry key features, using a route-level price data set containing prices for more than 6,000 routes in Germany for a period between September and December 2016. We find that average prices significantly increase and quantities decrease in the post-takeover phase. However, these results are mainly driven by the fact that Postbus was a low-cost supplier. The remaining providers do not seem to have increased their prices significantly in the post-takeover phase. This absence of a price increase despite the removal of a close competitor could be an indication of a strong impact of intermodal competition. This suggestion is confirmed by our empirical findings.