London, November 30, : In the near future, the UK Competition and Markets Authority will block Meta’s $315million acquisition of Giphy, media reports claim. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, purchased the online GIF platform in May 2020.
However, the UK regulator expressed concern about the deal and pro-rogued in August that Meta should be forced sell Giphy.CNET reported Monday that the regulators will not make their final decision before December 1, citing Financial Times.
Responding to a request for comments, the company provided a statement from August.
“We disagree with CMA’s preliminary findings,” a Meta spokesperson stated in a statement after the provisional ruling.
“We have shown that this merger is in everyone’s best interests, both in the UK and all over the world.We will continue to work closely with the CMA to dispel the myth that the deal is harmful to competition.”
The Competition and Markets Authority believes that the acquisition could cause a loss of competition in the digital advertising and social media markets.
According to the Financial Times, if the CMA decides to reverse Meta’s Giphy deal it would be the first time that regulators have overturned an acquisition in Big Tech.
Meta was fined by the watchdog for failing to provide updates proving compliance in October.This was in order to continue competing with GIF and avoid further integration during the investigation.
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