IBM's $6.4B HashiCorp acquisition cleared by UK

Core Viewpoint - The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved IBM's $6.4 billion acquisition of HashiCorp, indicating a shift towards a more pro-tech regulatory environment in the U.K. [1][5] Group 1: Acquisition Details - IBM plans to acquire HashiCorp for $6.4 billion as part of its strategy to enhance its presence in the hybrid cloud market, following previous acquisitions including Red Hat for $34 billion in 2019 and Apptio for $4.6 billion in 2018 [2][3]. - The CMA's approval comes after a "phase 1" investigation initiated in December, which involved gathering comments from key stakeholders [3]. Group 2: Regulatory Environment - The U.K. government has recently appointed Doug Gurr, a former Amazon executive, as the new CMA chairperson, reflecting a shift towards a more favorable stance on technology acquisitions [4]. - The U.K. aims to position itself as a pro-growth nation, signaling that it does not intend to obstruct significant deals involving foreign companies [5]. Group 3: Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny - Although the CMA has cleared the acquisition, the deal is still subject to review by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has not yet made a formal announcement regarding its stance [5].