4 ms·

Strictly speaking, the title is wrong: Facebook never bought Giphy, it prepared an acquisition whose execution was now blocked.

thspimpolds 5y ago
Phew, I was wondering when they closed the sale. I swear I would have remembered that
- dylan604 5y ago
  Don't swear. Place bets instead. That way, it's more expensive to be wrong which is a much better lesson to learn.
Deukhoofd 5y ago
Looking at the press release from the UK government, the title is correct, they are ordering Meta to sell Giphy. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-directs-facebook-to-sell-giphy https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-directs-facebook-to-s...
- uniqueuid 5y ago
  I stand corrected. This was apparently not an approval process but rather seeking remediation after the completed acquisition. Not quite familiar with UK competition law. In any case, it's very interesting to look at Meta's proposals (which were ultimately rejected) [1] [1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a4bfa2e90e07044a559d57/Facebook_GIPHY_-_Summary_of_Final_Report.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a4bfa2e90e0...
iam-TJ 5y ago
Incorrect according to the CMA Reports' clause 3 and clause 63: Clause 3: Facebook completed the acquisition of GIPHY on 15 May 2020, but has been required to hold the businesses separate since 9 June 2020, when the CMA imposed an Initial Enforcement Order (which was amended by a Variation Order on 29 June 2021). Clause 63: As noted above, we have decided that the sale of GIPHY is the only effective remedy to the SLCs that we have found. While divestiture of the acquired business is not an uncommon outcome when the CMA finds an SLC, divestiture of the GIPHY business poses particular challenges arising as a consequence of the completion of the Merger, and Facebook’s related actions, namely the termination of GIPHY’s revenue function and team, the transfer of almost all GIPHY staff on to Facebook employment contracts and the transfer of GIPHY’s back office functions to Facebook. These actions took place prior to the CMA issuing its Initial Enforcement Order holding the Facebook and GIPHY businesses separate and mean that, in several respects, GIPHY is in a significantly weaker position than it was pre-Merger. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a4bfa2e90e07044a559d57/Facebook_GIPHY_-_Summary_of_Final_Report.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a4bfa2e90e0...

thspimpolds 5y ago

Phew, I was wondering when they closed the sale. I swear I would have remembered that

dylan604 5y ago
Don't swear. Place bets instead. That way, it's more expensive to be wrong which is a much better lesson to learn.

Deukhoofd 5y ago

Looking at the press release from the UK government, the title is correct, they are ordering Meta to sell Giphy. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-directs-facebook-to-sell-giphy https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-directs-facebook-to-s...

uniqueuid 5y ago
I stand corrected. This was apparently not an approval process but rather seeking remediation after the completed acquisition. Not quite familiar with UK competition law. In any case, it's very interesting to look at Meta's proposals (which were ultimately rejected) [1] [1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a4bfa2e90e07044a559d57/Facebook_GIPHY_-_Summary_of_Final_Report.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a4bfa2e90e0...

iam-TJ 5y ago

Incorrect according to the CMA Reports' clause 3 and clause 63: Clause 3: Facebook completed the acquisition of GIPHY on 15 May 2020, but has been required to hold the businesses separate since 9 June 2020, when the CMA imposed an Initial Enforcement Order (which was amended by a Variation Order on 29 June 2021). Clause 63: As noted above, we have decided that the sale of GIPHY is the only effective remedy to the SLCs that we have found. While divestiture of the acquired business is not an uncommon outcome when the CMA finds an SLC, divestiture of the GIPHY business poses particular challenges arising as a consequence of the completion of the Merger, and Facebook’s related actions, namely the termination of GIPHY’s revenue function and team, the transfer of almost all GIPHY staff on to Facebook employment contracts and the transfer of GIPHY’s back office functions to Facebook. These actions took place prior to the CMA issuing its Initial Enforcement Order holding the Facebook and GIPHY businesses separate and mean that, in several respects, GIPHY is in a significantly weaker position than it was pre-Merger. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a4bfa2e90e07044a559d57/Facebook_GIPHY_-_Summary_of_Final_Report.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a4bfa2e90e0...