Facebook’s $19 bn WhatsApp buyout gets EU approval
4 Oct 2014 11:56 PM GMT
European Union regulators on Friday cleared the buyout of the WhatsApp mobile messaging service by Facebook, despite opposition by telecom companies afraid of the growing power of US
technology giants.
In a statement explaining its approval of the $19 billon (15-billion-euro) deal, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said Facebook and WhatsApp were ‘not close competitors’ and that consumers would continue to have a ‘wide array of choices’.
‘We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market,’ EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement. Facebook, the world's biggest social network, announced the buyout of the WhatsApp messenger service, used by 600 million people, in February and US authorities approved the deal in April.
technology giants.
In a statement explaining its approval of the $19 billon (15-billion-euro) deal, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said Facebook and WhatsApp were ‘not close competitors’ and that consumers would continue to have a ‘wide array of choices’.
‘We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market,’ EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement. Facebook, the world's biggest social network, announced the buyout of the WhatsApp messenger service, used by 600 million people, in February and US authorities approved the deal in April.
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