CMA clears Google-Looker merger unconditionally
The Competition and Markets Authority has decided not to refer the
completed acquisition by Google LLC of Looker Data Sciences, Inc (Looker) to a
Phase 2 merger probe.
The parties overlap in the supply of business intelligence services but the
CMA considered that they are not their closest competitors.
The CMA also investigated potential vertical concerns and examined in
particular whether Google could leverage market power in online advertising
into search analytics, for example by restricting access to Google-generated
data. It concluded that whilst Google
might have the ability to do so, it would not have the incentive to act in this
way.
The decision to clear the merger unconditionally is remarkable. The CMA has concluded that Google has market
power in the relevant markets, that it has the ability to foreclose competition
through the integration of the relevant services, but that it would have no
incentive to do so. Only time will tell.
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