All articles tagged with #competition regulator
The UK's competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has cleared Broadcom's $69 billion acquisition of VMware, following an in-depth phase-2 probe. The CMA had provisionally cleared the deal in July, stating that it would not weaken competition in the supply of critical computer server products.
Microsoft's president and vice chair, Brad Smith, plans to meet with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, to discuss the competition regulator's decision to block the proposed acquisition of games publisher Activision Blizzard. Microsoft is committed to finding ways to address remaining regulatory concerns and is working on strategies to counter the Competition and Markets Authority's ruling, which could involve pulling Activision Blizzard games from the UK market. The talks are likely to be scheduled during Smith's visit to the UK to discuss the potential of AI.
Shutterstock is acquiring Giphy for $53 million after Meta's acquisition was blocked by the UK's competition regulator. The deal will augment Shutterstock's content library, expanding it to include GIFs and Stickers, and help its generative AI and metadata strategy. Meta will retain access to Giphy's library across its products. Giphy's platform currently boasts 1.7 billion daily users, 15 billion daily media impressions, and 1.3 billion daily search queries.
The UK competition regulator has issued an interim order preventing Microsoft and Activision from acquiring an interest in each other without its consent, following the regulator's decision to block their $69 billion merger.
The UK competition regulator has launched an investigation into the AI industry, focusing on "foundation models" like large language models and generative AI, such as those being developed by Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI. The probe will examine potential competition and consumer concerns as regulators grow concerned by the risks posed by rapidly advancing AI. The regulator will seek views and evidence from stakeholders until a June 2 deadline and will publish a report outlining its findings in September.
The U.K. competition regulator blocked Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard over concerns of limiting competition in cloud gaming. Activision's stock dropped 10% while Microsoft's stock rose 7.3% following strong quarterly earnings.