AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided Dutch online food ordering company Takeaway.com can proceed with its integration of Just Eat, the company said on Thursday, although an investigation into the combination continues.
Takeaway bought Just Eat for $7.8 billion in January after a bidding war. The CMA is investigating whether Takeaway might not have re-entered the British market, which it quit in 2016, had it not bought Just Eat.
The companies had been banned from integrating while the investigation continues, with a first conclusion expected by May 19.
“The revocation of the (CMA’s) initial enforcement order means that these restrictions no longer apply, and that Just Eat Takeaway.com is now free to integrate the two businesses,” Takeaway said in a statement. “The CMA’s investigation remains ongoing.”
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by David Evans)
