According to the Wall Street Journal, on Wednesday local time, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has officially launched an investigation into Microsoft’s plans to acquire AI and voice technology company Nuance Communications to determine the two Whether the company’s business combination will reduce competition in the relevant UK market.
The CMA said it had set a deadline of March 9 for a first-stage decision on the deal. It launched a preliminary review of the deal in December 2021. On December 21, 2021, Microsoft’s plan to acquire Nuance for US$16 billion was approved by the European Commission.
Previously, Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016, which was Microsoft’s largest acquisition, and the acquisition of Nuance came in second.