Amazon gets approval to buy 16% stake in UK food delivery firm Deliveroo

Amazon has been given approval to buy a minority stake in U.K. food delivery start-up Deliveroo, ending a lengthy battle by the firms to convince regulators the deal would not harm competition.

In May 2019, Deliveroo announced it had raised a $575 million funding round led by Amazon. Just two months later, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority put the brakes on the deal. Then, later in the year, the CMA launched a formal probe to examine potential anti-competitive implications.

On Tuesday, the competition watchdog issued its final decision on the investment confirming that Amazon’s minority investment — which would see it take a 16% stake in Deliveroo — can go ahead. That move upheld two previous provisional findings that the deal should be approved.