By Noel Young

Taking the bull by the horns, Facebook is reportedly seeking European Union antitrust approval for its plan to buy WhatsApp.

Facebook requested the European Commission scrutinise the antitrust aspects of the $19 billion deal, Bloomberg reported.

If a company faces a merger review in three EU countries, it can ask the commission to handle the case.

Matthew Hall, a lawyer at McGuire Woods LLP in Brussels, who isn’t involved with the case, told Bloomberg in an e-mail, “Depending on where Facebook would have had to file, it may feel safer with dealing with the sophisticated, unbiased commission merger people.”

Jose Rivas, Read full story ›

Source: The Drum