Facebook Parent's Purchase Of VR Fitness App Invites Federal Antitrust Probe

Meta Platforms Inc FB, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is under investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

What Happened: The regulator has initiated an in-depth probe of the Mark Zuckerberg-led company’s plan to purchase Supernatural, a virtual reality fitness app, the Verge reported, citing The Information.

The investigation is an indication that the regulator’s investigations have extended beyond Meta’s acquisitions of social media companies and now the FTC is also probing the purchase of VR startups by the social media behemoth.

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Why It Matters: While Meta’s previous five VR acquisitions were not probed because the price tags were small, the Supernatural deal is different.

“Regulators are slowing down the $400 million-plus Supernatural deal,” persons familiar with the matter told The Information.

There is no clarity on the criteria employed by the FTC for evaluating the Meta-Supernatural deal, as per The Verge.

In August, the FTC refiled an antitrust case against Metam alleging it was a monopoly, and accused it of violating antitrust rules by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate them as competitors.

Price Action: On Thursday, Facebook shares closed nearly 2% lower at $334.90 in the regular session.

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