UK’s CMA Extends Deadline For Final Ruling On Amazon’s Deliveroo Deal

Britain’s competition regulator has given itself two more months to make a final ruling on Amazon’s purchase of a minority stake in online delivery group Deliveroo so it can take full account of representations from all interested parties, reported Reuters.

Amazon led a US$575 million fundraising in Deliveroo in May last year, making what the two parties called “a minority investment” and pitching it against Uber Eats and Just Eat Takeaway.com in the global race to dominate the market for meal deliveries. 

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a detailed investigation in December, claiming the deal could damage competition by discouraging Amazon from re-entering the online restaurant food market and further developing its presence within the online convenience grocery delivery market. 

The CMA provisionally cleared the deal in April, saying it had become clear that the coronavirus crisis was damaging Deliveroo’s revenues, given the closure of a large number of the restaurants available through its platform during the lockdown. It stated Deliveroo could go out of business without Amazon’s investment.

Full Content: Reuters

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