United Kingdom: Opened CMA phase 1 investigation into Alphabet (Google LLC) and Anthropic partnership

On 24 October 2024, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the phase 1 investigation into the partnership between Alphabet (Google LLC) and Anthropic. The CMA stated that sufficient information is available to begin an investigation concerning the partnership to determine whether it may result in the creation of relevant merger situations and the potential impact of these deals on competition in the UK. The CMA will issue its preliminary decision and determine if the partnership will be referred to a phase 2 investigation by 19 December 2024.