You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
The Irish Competition Authority has cleared the acquisition of The Book Depository by Amazon after a three-week investigation into the deal. In a short statement, the authority said: "[We have] formed the view that the acquisition will not lead to a substantial lessening of competition in any markets for goods or services in the state."
It said it will publish its reasons in full no later than 25th September but is allowing the relevant parties to remove any confidential information from the published version.
In the UK, the Publishers and Booksellers Associations, the Independent Publishers Guild and the Society of Authors are among the trade bodies that oppose the deal. The Bookseller Group is also against the merger.
The Office of Fair Trading will reach a decision as to whether it will refer the takeover to the Competition Commisson by 30th August.