The Commission ruled that the proposed transaction, as modified by Meta’s commitments, will not raise competition concerns
Meta wins EC approval for its acquisition of CRM software provider Kustomer. (Credit: NakNakNak from Pixabay)
Meta (formerly Facebook) has secured conditional approval from the European Commission (EC) for its previously announced acquisition of Kustomer, a US-based provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software.
According to the EC, its approval is conditional on Meta’s full compliance with the commitments it had offered to address competition concerns.
The clearance to the deal follows an in-depth probe by the European regulator on whether it will distort competition in the market for the supply of CRM software.
Kustomer’s CRM software are integrated with a variety of B2C communication channels. The software also supports agent communications with consumers via communication channels such as phone, email, SMS, webchat, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter.
The Commission was also worried that the proposed deal will further bolster Meta’s market position in the online display advertising market by enlarging the already considerable amount of data available with the firm for customisation of the ads it displays.
The in-depth investigation by the EC was launched last August.
EC Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, responsible for competition policy, said: “We must carefully review transactions that could further strengthen large players that increasingly dominate the digital economy, irrespective of the target company’s size.
“Our decision today will ensure that innovative rivals and new entrants in the customer relationship management software market can effectively compete. The commitments offered by Meta ensure that its rivals will continue to have free and comparable access to Meta’s important messaging channels.”
To address the competition concerns raised by the EC, Meta has committed to ensure non-discriminatory access, free of cost, to its publicly available APIs for its messaging channels to rival customer service CRM software providers and new players.
Meta has also agreed that equivalent enhancements to any features or functionalities of Messenger, Instagram messaging or WhatsApp that Kustomer’s customers get currently or in the future will be made available to Kustomer’s rivals and new players.
The EC ruled that the proposed deal, as modified by Meta’s commitments, will no longer pose competition concerns.