In yet another twist in the saga of Meta’s attempt to buy GIF-sharing service Giphy, bloomberg Report. Judges from the Competition Appeals Tribunal have asked the UK’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), to reconsider its previous decision asking Meta to sell Giphy. “We have agreed to reconsider our decision in light of this finding,” the CMA reported. bloomberg in a statement. It is expected that this process will not take more than three months.
The decision comes a month after the same tribunal largely favored the regulator when Meta appealed its order to terminate the deal and sell Giphy. The tribunal found in favor of the CMA on five of the six claims, but, importantly, on the remaining claims, ruled that the CMA had failed to properly inform Meta of Snapchat’s acquisition of Gfycat, thus protecting the company. weakened. Now, to correct the error, the CMA will reconsider its decision, and Meta will have the opportunity to comment on the CMA’s final report.
Meta (then known as Facebook) announced its intention to buy Giphy two years ago in May 2020. But the deal quickly caught the attention of the UK’s competition regulator, which was concerned with Meta’s ownership of the popular gif, among other things. -The sharing service may limit access to the content of other platforms. As a result, last November, CMA officially ordered Meta to open the deal and sell Giphy.
A representative for Meta declined to comment. ledge on the latest decision. But in response to the tribunal’s findings last month, META spokesman Christopher Asgroe reiterated that “we strongly believe that our investment will enhance Giphy’s product for the millions of people, businesses and partners who use it.”