UK tribunal quashes Meta-Giphy deal block, regulator to reconsider ruling

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s competition regulator said on Monday it would carry out another review of Facebook owner Meta’s acquisition of Giphy after a tribunal quashed its original decision to block it.

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year ordered Meta to sell animated images platform Giphy, which it acquired for a reported $400 million, because of its concerns about a loss of a possible competitor in advertising, and the potential impact on social media rivals.

Last month, the U.S. tech giant partially won an appeal against the regulator, when Britain’s Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) said that the CMA had “failed properly to consult” and had “wrongly excised portions from its decision”.

The CAT said it had quashed the regulator’s ruling and referred the matter back for a new decision.

In response, the CMA said the tribunal had endorsed its approach to reviewing mergers that might harm innovation, but had agreed to reconsider its ruling.

“We will commence our review shortly,” it said.

(Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Michael Holden)