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(Alliance News) - The Competition & Markets Authority on Monday said it would clear Future PLC's GBP140 million acquisition of fellow magazine publisher TI Media, but only as long as the two companies sell three closely competing products.
Future initially announced the acquisition of TI Media in late October 2019. The CMA in January said it would probe the deal.
CMA's preliminary investigation found that the two companies competed closely in photography and football magazines and in technology websites.
The regulator said customers who read football or photography magazines, or who use or advertise on technology websites, could face higher prices or lower-quality products due to the merger.
Future owns titles such as FourFourTwo and Digital Camera, as well as technology websites such as Techradar.com and T3.com. TI Media owns titles such as WorldSoccer and Amateur Photographer, and technology website Trustedreviews.com.
Colin Raftery, CMA's senior director of mergers, said: "If Future were to hold all of these titles, there's a real risk that these readers of football and photography magazines could end up paying more for lower-quality products because of the lack of choice in the market."
Referty added: "Future and TI Media must now address the CMA's concerns within 5 working days. If they're unable to do so, the merger will be referred for an in-depth investigation."
In response to CMA's preliminary probe, Future said it is in talks with the regulator on potential remedies to mitigate the competition issues and close the transaction as soon as practicable.
Shares in Future were trading 14% lower at 800.00 pence each in London on Monday morning.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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