By Michael Susin and Edith Hancock
The U.K.'s antitrust watchdog said it was considering whether International Business Machines' planned $6.4 billion takeover of HashiCorp would affect competition.
The Competition and Markets Authority said on Monday that it was inviting comments from interested parties by Jan. 16. The regulator set a provisional Feb. 25 deadline to decide whether to clear the deal or refer it for a further in-depth investigation.
IBM said in April that it agreed to buy HashiCorp, extending the tech company's push into cloud and artificial intelligence as those offerings drive growth. San Francisco-based HashiCorp makes tools and products that help its customers set up cloud infrastructure.
Under the agreement IBM will pay $35 a share in cash for HashiCorp, giving the company access to HashiCorp's roster of some 4,400 clients, the company said at the time.
The deal is also being looked at by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which asked the companies for more information earlier this year.
The initial review comes as the cloud sector is under increased scrutiny from competition regulators. Separately, the U.K. watchdog is expected to move forward with its cloud services market investigation early next year.
Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com and Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 30, 2024 07:24 ET (12:24 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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