CMA refers Ebiquity-Nielsen deal for in-depth investigation

The Competition and Markets Authority said on Monday that it will refer media and marketing consultancy Ebiquity's proposed sale of its advertising intelligence division to Nielsen for an in-depth investigation.

The regulator had raised concerns earlier this month, saying that as Nielsen and Ebiquity are the only suppliers of detailed advertising intelligence across a broad range of UK media, competition might be "significantly reduced" in the event of a merger.

"While they face some competition from firms offering this service for digital advertising, no firm competes with Nielsen and Ebiquity for detailed intelligence across all UK media channels," the CMA said.

As a result, it gave the businesses until 20 June to offer up remedies to its concerns. However, Nielsen and Ebiquity have not offered up any undertakings so the deal has been referred for an in-depth investigation.

Ebiquity said in a statement that it and Nielsen "will continue work closely with the CMA towards a successful conclusion".

The company announced back in April that it had agreed to dispose of its AdIntel business to Nielsen for £26m in cash. It said at the time that the sale would result in "a more focused and less complex business with the potential to achieve a faster rate of growth and better returns in a market where budgets are shifting towards analytics and technology".

At 0955 BST, Ebiquity shares were up 3% to 68.51p.