U.K. probes Google's Looker purchase over competition concerns

BUSINESS

U.K. probes Google's Looker purchase over competition concerns

Published Monday, December 2, 2019 1:28PM EST

Google says it is changing how it handles online ads to avoid the spread of misinformation. (AFP)

Text:

LONDON -- Britain's competition watchdog says it's investigating Google's purchase of cloud data analytics company Looker Data Sciences, adding to the regulatory pressures the U.S. tech giant is facing.

The Competition and Markets Authority said Monday that it has invited "any interested party" to comment on whether the transaction would "result in a substantial lessening of competition" in the U.K. market.

Google said in June it planned to buy Looker, which helps customers "visualize data," for US$2.6 billion in cash to bolster its Google Cloud service.

The deal was expected to close by the end of the year.

Google did not immediately comment.

It has come under tighter scrutiny on various fronts in the U.S., where authorities at both the state and federal level have opened investigations into tech giants.