The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has delayed publishing its final decision on the proposed tie-up between Amazon and Deliveroo until the first week of August.
The competition watchdog was due to publish its final decision into the partnership tomorrow but announced today it had chosen to extend the date of its final decision by up to eight weeks, so as to “take full account of representations” received following the publishing of its provisional findings in April.
The CMA provisionally gave the go-ahead for the tie-up to take place, citing Deliveroo’s “deteriorated” financial position following the closure of the vast majority of the restaurant businesses it relies on due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the CMA sparked fury in retail circles when it subsequently blocked the proposed merger between footwear giant JD Sports and struggling high street footwear chain Footasylum in early May.
The watchdog also made headlines last year when it blocked the proposed merger between Sainsbury’s and rival supermarket Asda on diminished competition grounds.
As Retail Week reported earlier this month, several grocery retailers have been ratcheting up pressure on the CMA to block the Amazon-Deliveroo deal in its final verdict.
The CMA has given itself until August 6 to publish its final findings but said it would “aim to complete the inquiry as soon as possible and in advance of this date”.
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