Germany: German Bundeskartellamt approves Meta (Facebook)'s acquisition of Kustomer

On 11 February 2022, the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) approved the acquisition of Kustomer by Meta, previously Facebook. The Bundeskartellamt examined if the transaction fulfils the transaction value thresholds of the German Competition Act (GWB) and determined that the merger is not prohibited under existing German competition law. The regulator noted that it took into account of the EU Commission’s investigation into the matter when reviewing the acquisition. Kustomer provides software for customer relationship management (CRM) which allows businesses to engage with customers more efficiently. Meta owns the messaging channels Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp that are used in customer services and CRM software. The investigation aimed to determine if the transaction would negatively impact competition, as Meta would be able to limit the access of Kustomer’s rivals to its messaging channels.