Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in a statement Monday that it has launched an investigation into IBM's deal to buy U.S. software company HashiCorp, focusing on whether the acquisition would substantially lessen competition in the U.K. market.

The CMA invited stakeholders to comment on the deal by January 16, 2025, with a deadline of February 25 next year to make a first-stage decision.

In April this year, IBM announced that it would acquire HashiCorp for $35 per share in cash, bringing the enterprise value to $6.4 billion.