Asian Tech Press (Nov 29) -- The UK competition regulator is expected to block Meta's acquisition of the online GIF platform Giphy within the next few days, according to media reports.

People familiar with the matter said that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will revoke the deal, which, if successful, would be the first time the CMA has canceled an M&A deal for a major tech company.

The CMA began investigating the planned acquisition of Giphy by Meta (then known as Facebook) in June 2020.

In August, the CMA said that Facebook's acquisition of GIF site Giphy was detrimental to fair competition among social networking platforms. The CMA warned that it could require Facebook to sell Giphy if concerns raised by Facebook's acquisition of Giphy were eventually confirmed.

In October, the CMA issued a £50.5 million fine to Meta for materially violating an injunction to remain separate from Giphy during the investigation.