UK opens inquiry into Google's takeover of data company Britain's competition watchdog has launched a formal merger inquiry into Google's purchase of cloud data analytics company Looker Data SciencesLONDON -- Britain's competition watchdog said Tuesday it launched a formal inquiry into Google's takeover of cloud data analytics company Looker Data Sciences, as it intensifies scrutiny of technology deals. The Competition and Markets Authority said it had notified the two companies on Monday that it was opening an initial inquiry and would decide on Feb. 13 whether to escalate it to a more in-depth investigation. The authority said this month it was looking into whether the $2.6 billion acquisition would result in less competition in the U.K. market. The inquiry comes a week after the authority stepped up pressure on a separate tech deal, by threatening Amazon with an in-depth investigation of its plan to buy a stake in food delivery platform Deliveroo unless it came up with proposals to address competition concerns. Google has also come under regulatory pressure on various fronts in the U.S., where authorities at both the state and federal level have opened investigations into tech giants.

Source: ABC News December 17, 2019 11:26 UTC