By Ian Walker


The European Commission said Thursday that it has conditionally approved Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.'s planned acquisition of New York-based startup Kustomer.

The regulator, which started its investigation into the deal in August, said its clearance of the deal is conditional on full compliance with commitments offered by Meta.

"Our decision today will ensure that innovative rivals and new entrants in the customer relationship management software market can effectively compete," Executive Vice President responsible for competition policy Margrethe Vestager said.

In September, the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said it wouldn't refer the deal for a Phase 2 investigation.

Facebook said in November 2020 that it would buy Kustomer, a startup that specializes in customer-service platforms and chatbots. People familiar with the matter said the deal would value Kustomer at a little more than $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time.


Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-27-22 0847ET