The purchase was first announced in November 2020 but got
delayed due to regulatory scrutiny including a full-scale investigation from
the European Commission.
The probe came amid regulatory concerns on both sides of the
Atlantic that a buying spree of startups by big firms may be so-called killer
acquisitions aimed at closing down nascent rivals.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, secured EU approval after
agreeing to provide rivals free access to its messaging channels for 10 years.
Kustomer sells CRM software to businesses so they can
communicate with consumers by phone, email, text messages, WhatsApp, Instagram,
and other channels. Its takeover would help Facebook scale up its
instant-messaging app WhatsApp, whose usage has soared during the COVID-19
pandemic. © Reuters