GOOG Alphabet Inc

   By Ian Walker 
 

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority Thursday cleared Google LLC's acquisition of Looker Data Sciences, Inc. following a review into the deal.

The regulator launched the investigation last December and issued an initial enforcement order on Google, limiting the extent to which the companies can integrate their operations. It also said it believed the deal would lessen competition in any U.K. market.

The CMA said Thursday that its decision to clear the deal followed an extensive Phase 1 review, exploring the different ways in which the completed merger could adversely affect competition.

Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, agreed in June to pay $2.6 billion for Looker, a maker of business-intelligence and data-analytics software, to bolster its cloud business.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2020 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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