According to the British competition watchdog, which has launched an in-depth phase two investigation into the tie-up, the move could lead to higher prices for customers and affect investment in UK mobile networks.

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As a result, the CMA has given the two telecoms giants five five working days to respond with “meaningful solutions” to their concerns.

The CMA also raised its concerns that the deal may make it difficult for smaller mobile ‘virtual’ network operators such as Sky Mobile, Lebara and Lyca Mobile to negotiate good deals for their own customers, by reducing the number of mobile network operators capable of hosting these “virtual networks”.

In January, the CMA launched its Phase 1 investigation into the merger, which found it could “could lead to mobile customers facing higher prices and reduced quality.”

CMA Phase 1 decisionmaker for this case, Julie Bon, said: “Millions of people in the UK depend on effective competition in the mobile market in order to access the best deals for them.

“Whilst Vodafone and Three have made a number of claims about how their deal is good for competition and investment, the CMA has not seen sufficient evidence to date to back these claims.”

Bon added: “Our initial assessment of this deal has identified concerns which could lead to higher prices for customers and lower investment in UK mobile networks. These warrant an in-depth investigation unless Vodafone and Three can come forward with solutions.”

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched its Phase 1 investigation looking into Vodafone UK’s merger with Three UK.

If successful, the deal will combine the telecom giant’s operations under one single network provider.

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Now, the CMA has up to 40 working days to assess the deal as part of a Phase 1 investigation, as it has received the required pre-notification evidence and information from both Vodafone UK and Three UK.

The authority has also gathered early views from stakeholders, kicking off its investigation, which is designed to identify whether the deal may lead to a “substantial lessening of competition” and – if so – whether a more in-depth Phase 2 investigation is required.

CMA CEO, Sarah Cardell said: “This deal would bring together two of the major players in the UK telecommunications market, which is critical to millions of everyday customers, businesses and the wider economy. The CMA will assess how this tie-up between rival networks could impact competition before deciding the next steps.

“We now have 40 working days to complete this formal Phase 1 investigation, before publishing our findings and any next steps.”

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The Marketers for an Open Web (MOW) has made submissions to the CMA’s investigation into Apple. In the submissions, Apple has been accused of limiting competition between apps available on the open web and those on its App Store, while also limiting competition between app stores.

The MOW goes further by claiming that Apple increases revenues and profits by locking in customers and suppliers to its App Store, accusing the company’s $2bn Search Ads business and Workbench products of collecting people’s browsing history for sale of its own ads and then restricting rivals’ ability to compete, particularly highlighting Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework.

The alliance of marketers also accuses Apple of not holding itself to the same standards as it holds third-party app developers, due to Apple not providing its users with notice about collecting their personal data when it monetizes its own apps with advertising.

“Apple’s Practices have gone on for far too long,” said Lawyer Tim Cowen, of Preiskel &Co, acting for MOW. “The EU Commission has been looking at them since Spotify filed its complaint, in March 2019 which was followed by a complaint in France of last year. Now the UK is looking into the issue. Who will achieve a result the fastest is now the key question. All these investigations fail to address the issues and, in the meantime, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’.”

The CMA launched its investigation into Apple earlier this month to consider whether Apple’s terms and conditions are ‘unfair’ to app developers, following complaints from developers about the App Store.

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Complaints from developers focus on the terms they are forced to agree to that mean they can only distribute their apps to iPhones and iPads via the App Store, as well as the fact that some developers who offer in-app extras are required to use Apple’s payment system rather than an alternative. Apple charges these developers a commission of up to 30 per cent whenever a transaction is carried out.

As such, the CMA will investigate whether Apple has a dominant position when it comes to the distribution of apps in the UK and, if so, whether Apple uses this position to impose ‘unfair or anti-competitive’ terms on developers.

“Millions of us use apps every day to check the weather, play a game or order a takeaway. So, complaints that Apple is using its market position to set terms which are unfair or may restrict competition and choice – potentially causing customers to lose out when buying and using apps – warrant careful scrutiny,” said Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive of the CMA.

“Our ongoing examination into digital markets has already uncovered some worrying trends. We know that businesses, as well as consumers, may suffer real harm if anti-competitive practices by big tech go unchecked. That’s why we’re pressing on with setting up the new Digital Markets Unit and launching new investigations wherever we have grounds to do so.”

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The deal, announced in July last year, would see Adevinta pick up 100 per cent of eBay’s classifieds arm, which houses Shpock rival Gumtree. Despite Adevinta gaining ownership of the entire eCG business, the agreement would also mean that eBay acquires a 33.3 per cent voting stake in Adevinta and positions on the Norwegian company’s board.

The fact that eBay would have significant influence over both Gumtree and Shpock is what concerns the CMA, a fear heightened by evidence that eBay may have been close to selling Gumtree to another business without retaining influence over the platform.

The CMA believes that there could be a loss of competition between Shpock, Gumtree, and eBay, leaving Facebook Marketplace as the only other significant competitor, thus reducing consumer choice, and possibly increasing fees and lowering innovation.

“It is important that people have choice when it comes to selling items they no longer require or searching for a bargain online, and that they can enjoy competitive fees and services,” said Joel Bamford, Senior Director of Mergers at the CMA.

“There is a realistic chance that without this deal Gumtree and Shpock would have been direct competitors to eBay, which is by far the biggest player in this market. This is the latest in a series of merger probes by the CMA involving large digital companies, where we are thoroughly examining deals to ensure that competition is not restricted, and consumers’ interests are protected.”

Both eBay and Adevinta have acknowledged the CMA’s announcement and, while not agreeing, have pledged to work with the UK government department to find a ‘suitable resolution’.

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The Marketers for an Open Web (MOW) have written to the CMA to ask it to use its powers to put a stop to Google’s plans. The Privacy Sandbox – due to launch in early 2021 – would remove login, advertising, and other features from the open web on Google’s Chrome browser and place them under the control of the tech giant.

Google’s Chrome browser and Chromium developer tools run on around 72 per cent of UK computers.

The MOW group has warned that the introduction of the technology has nothing to do with privacy, despite its name, and is simply a ploy to move digital advertising away from the open web and beyond the reach of regulators. The coalition also points to its concerns that news publisher revenues will be cut by around two-thirds, with smaller regional publications hit hardest, as a result of them not being able to access the cookies they use to sell advertising.

As a result, the MOW wants the CMA to take action before Google is able to use the Privacy Sandbox to protect itself from any competitive remedies that regulators may propose to mitigate Google’s dominant position on the web.

“The world’s regulators have realised that Google is attempting to take over the web through its dominance of areas such as search, online advertising and browser technologies. However, their efforts to mitigate this monopoly power will be in vain if Google manages to consolidate its dominance through the introduction of Privacy Sandbox prior to the regulators’ recommended changes to the law being implemented.  If Google releases this technology, they will effectively own the means by which media companies, advertisers and technology businesses reach their consumers and that change will be irreversible,” James Rosewell, Director of MOW.

“The concept of the open web is based on a decentralised, standards-based environment that is not under the control of any single commercial organisation.  This model is vital to the health of a free and independent media, to a competitive digital business environment and to the freedom and choice of all web users.  Privacy Sandbox creates new, Google-owned standards and is an irreversible step towards a Google-owned ‘walled garden’ web where they control how businesses and users interact online.”

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The CMA has been investigating what it calls ‘hidden advertising’ on the Facebook-owned platform and has been concerned about how much paid-for content there is that hasn’t been marked as such.

In response, Facebook Ireland, which operates Instagram in the UK, has committed to making it harder for people to post ads on the app without labelling them correctly. It’s agreed to prompt users to confirm if they have been incentivised to promote a product or service, extend its ‘paid partnership’ tool to all users, and use technology to identify when users might not have disclosed that their post is an ad clearly.

Instagram will also have to create a tool to help businesses to monitor how their products are being promoted and trust these businesses to take action, where appropriate.

“For too long, major platforms have shied away from taking responsibility for hidden advertising on their site. So, this commitment to tackle hidden adverts and overhaul the way people post on Instagram – making it difficult for users to ignore the law – is a welcome step forward,” said Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive of the CMA.

“These changes mean there will be no excuse for businesses to overlook how their brands are being advertised either – making life a lot harder for those who are not upfront and honest with their followers.”

The changes apply to all users in the UK and anyone around the world who directs posts to Instagram users in the UK.

Last year, 16 celebrities, including Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Michelle Keegan, and Megan McKenna, made a commitment to the CMA to clearly state if they have been incentivised to make a post on social media.

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Amazon’s intention to invest in Deliveroo was announced by in May 2019 when Amazon led a $575m (£457m) funding round, which also included funds from existing investors T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Greenoaks.

The involvement of Amazon in this funding round triggered a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the government department deciding to pause the transaction in July 2019.

Now, more than a year later, the CMA has deemed that that Amazon’s investment in Deliveroo wouldn’t be damaging to competition.

“Today’s final decision is the result of a thorough examination of this deal and the markets in which Amazon and Deliveroo operate,” said Stuart McIntosh, Inquiry Chair. “The CMA’s initial Phase 1 review of the transaction highlighted potential competition concerns which the independent Inquiry Group has considered in detail during the Phase 2 investigation. Taking account of the higher legal standard that applies at Phase 2, the Group has concluded that the transaction will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in either restaurant delivery or convenience grocery delivery.”

The decision doesn’t actually come as much of a surprise with the CMA having provisionally cleared the transaction a few months ago.

In April, Deliveroo argued that the coronavirus pandemic had done so much damage to its business that it wouldn’t be able to survive without Amazon’s investment. The CMA agreed and continued to monitor the company’s finances, eventually finding that the recovery of the food delivery market during the outbreak meant that Deliveroo “could no longer be considered a failing firm”.

Despite this, the regulator still came to conclusion that Amazon’s claim of 16 per cent of Deliveroo would not lessen competition. If Amazon were to acquire a larger stake in Deliveroo, however, the CMA has said it could launch another investigation.

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided to halt the transaction while it considers launching a full investigation into Amazon’s investment. The initial enforcement order served to Amazon and Deliveroo does not include a deadline.

The order, which was issued on 24 June 2019, states that the CMA has “reasonable grounds for suspecting” that Amazon and Roofoods, which trades as Deliveroo, have “ceased to be distinct” or that greenlighting the transaction would lead to a merger between the two.

During the pause to the deal, Deliveroo and Amazon must continue to operate entirely separately from one another, and they may not make any changes to organisational structure or staffing, while also not transferring any assets or intellectual property.

Deliveroo is arguing that the investment from Amazon will help to create jobs, help restaurants to grow, and improve choice for consumers.

“Deliveroo and Amazon have been working closely with regulators to obtain regulatory approvals,” said a Deliveroo spokesperson. “There are a number of major companies within the restaurant food delivery sector and this investment will enable Deliveroo to expand, innovate and, we believe, will enhance competition.”

An Amazon spokesperson added: “We believe this minority investment will enable Deliveroo to expand its services, benefiting consumers through increased choice and creating new jobs as more restaurants gain access to the service.”

The post Amazons investment in Deliveroo put on hold by UK competition regulator appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The series G preferred shared funding round also include investment from existing investors T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Greenoaks.

“Were impressed with Deliveroos approach, and their dedication to providing customers with an ever-increasing selection of great restaurants along with convenient delivery options,” said Doug Gurr, Amazon UK Country manager. “Will [Shu] and his team have built an innovative technology and service, and were excited to see what they do next.”

Deliveroo says it will use the cash boost to grow its London-based engineering; expand its delivery reach; innovating within the food sector; and to develop new products in order to offer a more personalised experience to customers, increased support to its restaurant partners, and tools to offer riders ‘flexible and well-paid work’.

“This new investment will help Deliveroo to grow and to offer customers even more choice, tailored to their personal tastes, offer restaurants greater opportunities to grow and expand their businesses, and to create more flexible, well-paid work for riders,” said Will Shu, founder and CEO of Deliveroo.

“Amazon has been an inspiration to me personally and to the company, and we look forward to working with such a customer-obsessed organisation.

“This is great news for the tech and restaurant sectors, and it will help to create jobs in all of the countries in which we operate.”

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