Meta announced the acquisition of Giphy for $315 million in early May 2020 but the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has rejected the deal at the end of November last year, asking Meta to sell Giphy.
Meta appealed in December, asking the UK Competition Court of Appeal (CAT) to reassess CMA's decision.
On Tuesday, CMA made the final decision, insisting that Meta sell Giphy. Meta Platforms's acquisition of Giphy, a GIF image search engine, was again halted by UK antitrust regulators.
Meta agreed to abandon the deal, while Giphy will find another buyer. The final decision marks the first time that global regulators have forced a large technology company to withdraw a completed deal.
CMA said on Tuesday that given the risk of significantly reduced competition in the social media and display advertising markets, Meta must sell Giphy as a whole to the right buyer.
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