Competition watchdog to probe Nvidia’s $40bn Arm takeover January 6, 2021 The UK competition watchdog has opened an investigation into Nvidia’s $40bn (£29bn) takeover of British chip designer Arm. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today said it will look into whether the deal could lead to Arm withdraw, raising prices or reducing the quality of its services to Nvidia’s competitors. “The chip technology industry is [...]
Mobile rivals raise competition concerns over £31bn O2-Virgin merger January 3, 2021 Rivals have hit out at the planned £31bn mega-merger between O2 and Virgin Media, warning the deal could harm competition in the UK telecoms market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month referred the tie-up for an in-depth investigation after the two companies asked the regulator to fast-track its probe. In the full text [...]
Data-hungry fintech firms urge FCA to ‘break’ banks this year January 2, 2021 A coalition of London startups is calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to end the dominance of banking institutions over the use of consumer data this year. The firms argue it would increase competition in the savings, credit, mortgages and pensions markets. The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), an advocacy group that represent a [...]
Snakes and Ladders: Who is moving jobs in the City this week? December 16, 2020 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City
Rangers, Hummel and JD Sports probed by competition watchdog over replica kit pricing December 16, 2020 Scottish football club Rangers are being probed by the UK competition watchdog over the pricing of their replica kits. The Competition and Markets Authority is also investigating Rangers’ former kit maker Hummel and retailers JD Sports and Greaves Sports. The CMA said it’s probe centred on “suspected anti-competitive behaviour in relation to the price at [...]
CMA investigating airlines over lack of refunds for cancelled flights December 16, 2020 The UK’s competition watchdog has announced that it will investigate the country’s airlines over their failure to offer refunds to customers who could not fly due to the pandemic. As a result of travel restrictions due to coronavirus, thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled over the course of the year. Consumer groups have [...]
Competition watchdog refers O2-Virgin merger for in-depth investigation December 11, 2020 The UK competition regulator has referred the £31bn O2-Virgin merger for in-depth investigation. Liberty Global and Telefonica, the respective owners of Virgin Media and O2, struck a deal to merge their UK operations back in May. Last month the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched its phase one investigation into the mega-merger, arguing the potential [...]
City regulator confirms mini-bond marketing ban December 10, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority has today confirmed its permanent ban on the marketing of mini-bonds to retail investors amid concerns over losses. It comes after a series of scandals involving unregulated bonds, including the collapse of London Capital & Finance (LCF) last year. The confirmation follows a temporary ban introduced in January after the regulator [...]
Facebook facing multiple lawsuits that could splinter the tech firm and render acquisitions illegal December 9, 2020 The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and nearly every US state have sued Facebook today, saying that it broke antitrust law and should potentially be broken up. In its complaint, the coalition of 46 states, Washington, D.C. and Guam also asked for Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp to be judged to be illegal. The [...]
CMA launches probe into billionaire brothers’ takeover of Asda December 8, 2020 The UK’s competition regulator has launched its stage one probe into the billionaire Issa brothers’ takeover of supermarket Asda. Back in October the brothers, along with private equity group TDR Capital, agreed to buy the grocer from US giant Walmart for £6.8bn. At the time, Walmart said that it expected the deal to be subject [...]