Regulators Approve Microsoft’s $19.7B Acquisition of Nuance
A watchdog tasked with ensuring healthy business competition in the U.K. has approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Nuance Communication’s, paving the way for the $19.7 billion deal’s completion.
The Competition and Markets Authority announced its decision Wednesday, charging that the merger will not allow Microsoft to monopolize the healthcare market. It follows similar determinations from the European Commission and U.S. antitrust regulators.
“Based on the available evidence, the CMA does not believe that the merged entity would have the ability to foreclose Microsoft’s rivals,” the authority said in its March 2 decision. “In particular, the CMA considers that the merged entity would not be able to foreclose rivals by bundling patient administration tools, patient engagement tools, or remote healthcare tools with healthcare transcription software.”
