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Bloomberg
The UK competition regulator has started a review into Amazon.com Inc’s bid to buy a slice of fast-growing food delivery startup Deliveroo, adding to the e-tailing giant’s antitrust woes around the globe.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on its website 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 wrap up by December 11, it said.
The investigation comes after the regulator said in July it had “reasonable grounds†to believe Amazon and Deliveroo, which operates a fleet of smartphone-navigated scooters and bicycles to deliver food from local restaurants, 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.
A spokesman for Amazon declined to comment, while a representative for Deliveroo didn’t immediately return a message inquiring about the review.
UK food delivery has become fiercely competitive, and Deliveroo’s rivals include Just Eat Plc and Uber Technologies Inc.