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U.K. Watchdog Starts Review Into Amazon’s Deliveroo Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.The U.K. competition regulator has started a review into Amazon.com Inc.’s bid to buy a slice of fast-growing food delivery startup Deliveroo.The Competition and Markets Authority said on its website Wednesday that it’s investigating the purchase of rights and a minority shareholding in Roofoods Ltd., which does business under the Deliveroo brand. The first phase will be concluded by Dec. 11, it said. In July, the regulator said it had “reasonable grounds” to believe Amazon and Deliveroo had either ceased to be separate operations or were close to merging.While CMA reviews into mergers are relatively common, it’s unusual for the regulator to examine acquisitions of minority stakes. In May, Amazon said it would invest in a $575 million funding round to help the London-based startup expand its technology team and network.Representatives for Amazon and Deliveroo didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.The U.K. food delivery marketplace is fiercely competitive, and Deliveroo’s rivals include the likes of Just Eat Plc and Uber Technologies Inc. Amazon closed down its London-focused food delivery business last year. Amazon has signaled its growing ambitions in the U.K. with Prime Now, which offers deliveries to major British cities within two hours.But it faces stiff domestic competition from the likes of Ocado Group Plc, an online grocery pioneer that licenses its technology to the likes of Kroger Co. and aims to halve that time with a service called Zoom.\--With assistance from Stephanie Bodoni and Hugo Miller.To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Elser in London at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at [email protected], Amy Thomson, Nate LanxonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P. Read More...

(Bloomberg) — Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.

The U.K. competition regulator has started a review into Amazon.com Inc.’s bid to buy a slice of fast-growing food delivery startup Deliveroo.

The Competition and Markets Authority said on its website Wednesday that it’s investigating the purchase of rights and a minority shareholding in Roofoods Ltd., which does business under the Deliveroo brand. The first phase will be concluded by Dec. 11, it said. In July, the regulator said it had “reasonable grounds” to believe Amazon and Deliveroo had either ceased to be separate operations or were close to merging.

While CMA reviews into mergers are relatively common, it’s unusual for the regulator to examine acquisitions of minority stakes. In May, Amazon said it would invest in a $575 million funding round to help the London-based startup expand its technology team and network.

Representatives for Amazon and Deliveroo didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The U.K. food delivery marketplace is fiercely competitive, and Deliveroo’s rivals include the likes of Just Eat Plc and Uber Technologies Inc. Amazon closed down its London-focused food delivery business last year. Amazon has signaled its growing ambitions in the U.K. with Prime Now, which offers deliveries to major British cities within two hours.

But it faces stiff domestic competition from the likes of Ocado Group Plc, an online grocery pioneer that licenses its technology to the likes of Kroger Co. and aims to halve that time with a service called Zoom.

–With assistance from Stephanie Bodoni and Hugo Miller.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Elser in London at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at [email protected], Amy Thomson, Nate Lanxon

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com” data-reactid=”28″>For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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