The UK's antitrust watchdog has opened an investigation into IBM's (IBM) proposed $6.4 billion acquisition of HashiCorp (HCP).

The Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, said it is investigating whether the deal will "result in a substantial lessening of competition" within the UK.

The CMA invited interest parties to submit their comments by Jan. 16. The regulator expects to decide whether the proposed transaction should be referred for a phase 2 investigation by Feb. 25.

IBM declined MT Newswires' request for comment, while HashiCorp didn't respond a request. IBM's shares fell 1.1% in midday trade, while HashiCorp's were little changed.

IBM in April agreed to buy HashiCorp, a multi-cloud infrastructure automation company, for $35 per share in cash.

The acquisition would expand IBM's total addressable market by enabling IBM to deliver more hybrid and multi-cloud offerings to enterprise clients, according to an April statement from the companies. HashiCorp has a roster of more than 4,400 clients, including Bloomberg, Comcast (CMCSA) and Starbucks (SBUX), the joint statement showed at the time.

Earlier this year, the US Federal Trade Commission requested additional information as part of its own investigation into the deal. In July, HashiCorp said in a regulatory filing that it still expected the deal to close by the end of 2024, a timeline initially agreed by the companies.