Australia's ACCC is assessing Amadeus's €1.2bn purchase of Idemia Public Security. Both supply biometric border systems to Home Affairs. Phase 1 ends 11 January 2027.
Cover image: A SmartGate arrivals kiosk at Sydney Airport (2025 file photo) — photo by Joshlama1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Amadeus Idemia Public Security ACCC review is under way. Australia's competition regulator lists the €1.2 billion acquisition on its public acquisitions register as case MN-60027, with an effective notification date of 11 November 2026 and a status of "under assessment". It is in Phase 1, the initial stage for every notified deal.
One detail matters to airports and airlines: both companies supply front-end biometric border control systems to the Department of Home Affairs. The register describes these as "traveller-facing hardware and software deployed at the border to capture biometric data, such as automated border gates". The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published no view on the deal. Third parties have until 19 November to answer its questionnaire.
What does the ACCC register say about the Amadeus Idemia Public Security review?
According to the entry, Amadeus IT Group proposes to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Idemia Government USA Corp. and Idemia Public Security France SAS and their subsidiaries. Idemia Australasia Pty Ltd is listed among the targets. The sellers' parent, Idemia Group, is majority-owned by the private equity firm Advent International, the register says.
Amadeus "acquired biometrics capabilities through its 2024 acquisition of Vision-Box Group, including Vision-Box Australia Pty Ltd", the description says. Idemia Public Security (IPS) supplies biometric technology for borders and travel, law enforcement and access control.
Globally, the entry adds, the two overlap in passenger facilitation solutions and in Advanced Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record (API/PNR) systems, as well as in front-end border control systems.
The register does not say which gates or kiosks each company supplies. Idemia said in December 2024, announcing a 10-year extension of its Home Affairs agreement, that it supports the upgraded arrival systems at eight Australian international airports.
What are the dates in the ACCC timetable?
These are process dates. None is a decision.
| Step | Date | What the ACCC says |
|---|---|---|
| Effective notification date | 11 November 2026 | Case MN-60027, type "Notification" |
| Third-party questionnaire opens | 12 November 2026 | Phase 1 consultation, status "Open" |
| Questionnaire responses due | 19 November 2026 | By email to the ACCC |
| End of determination period | 11 January 2027 | Phase 1 runs up to 30 business days unless extended |
The ACCC's guidance says most acquisitions are expected to be approved in Phase 1, no earlier than business day 15, and that a small number need a Phase 2 assessment of up to 90 further business days.
Neither Amadeus nor Idemia had issued a press release on the Australian filing as of 13 November 2026.
What is Amadeus buying, and what is left out?
Amadeus announced its intention to buy IPS on 29 April 2026. The price is €1.2 billion, and an earn-out could take the total to €1.35 billion.
On 23 July Amadeus told Spain's securities regulator, the CNMV, that it had formalised the acquisition and signed a €1.2 billion syndicated bridge loan to pay for it. Closing "is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected mid-2027", the filing says.
The Australian entry adds the perimeter. Before closing, Oppscience, the US Civil ID business, the Road Safety business and "certain India-based activities" will be separated from IPS. Idemia's Southern and Eastern Africa business moves the other way, into IPS.
Separately, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and other carriers have disclosed a breach of airline booking records held on Amadeus systems. The register entry does not mention it.
Where else does the deal need clearance?
Amadeus's announcements do not list the jurisdictions involved. One decision is on record. Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission resolved at its meeting on 7 October not to prohibit the combination, the commission said the same day in a statement in Chinese. It found that the two companies' businesses in Taiwan do not overlap, and that the deal would not significantly restrict competition globally, where it named the same three areas of overlap as the ACCC entry.
Australia differs on the first point: the ACCC entry records both parties as suppliers to the same government customer. In Europe, border biometrics are in the spotlight over Entry/Exit System queues.
What else did the ACCC decide for travel this week?
On 12 November the ACCC determined that Royal Caribbean's planned 50 per cent interest in the Sandals Resorts business does not need to be notified (a notification waiver, case WA-45037). It said "there is no horizontal overlap or vertical relationship between RCL and Sandals Resorts in Australia". We covered its third-quarter results on 1 November.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ACCC reviewing in the Amadeus and Idemia Public Security deal?
Amadeus IT Group has notified the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission of its plan to buy 100 per cent of Idemia Public Security France SAS and Idemia Government USA Corp. The register entry, case MN-60027, shows an effective notification date of 11 November 2026.
When will the ACCC decide on the Amadeus Idemia acquisition?
The register lists 11 January 2027 as the end of the determination period for Phase 1. That deadline can be extended. Before then the ACCC can approve the deal, with or without conditions, or move it to an in-depth Phase 2.
Do Amadeus and Idemia both supply Australia's border control systems?
The ACCC register entry says both supply front-end biometric border control systems to the Department of Home Affairs, and gives automated border gates as an example. It does not say which equipment each company supplies, or at which Australian airports.
Has any other regulator cleared the Amadeus purchase of Idemia Public Security?
Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission decided on 7 October 2026 not to prohibit the deal, according to its own Chinese-language statement. Amadeus says closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected in mid-2027, with no list given.
Sources
- ACCC register, Amadeus - Idemia Public Security
- ACCC, Assessment process and review timelines
- Amadeus, acquisition announcement, 29 April 2026
- Amadeus, CNMV filing, 23 July 2026
- Idemia, Home Affairs extension, December 2024
- Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (in Chinese), statement of 7 October 2026
- ACCC register, Royal Caribbean - Sandals waiver
