Friends Reunited sale hit by competition fears

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Profile	Posted by	Options	Post Date
Member Since: June 2003 Posts: 3,299 Send Message	Len of the Chilterns	Report	3 Nov 2009 12:42
Member Since: June 2003 Posts: 3,299 Send Message	ITV's £25m sale of Friends Reunited has been referred to the Competition Commission over concerns that the new owner will dominate the online genealogy market. The broadcaster agreed to sell the once-popular social networking site to Brightsolid, a division of DC Thomson, at a £150m loss in August. However, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is concerned that Brightsolid's plan to combine Friends' genealogy site - Genes Renuited - with its own family tracing sites, FindMyPast.com and the 1911census.co.uk could breach competition law. "The proposed acquisition would see the three main providers of online genealogy services reduced to two, and we are concerned this could lead to a reduction in choice or service for consumers." Both ITV and Brightsolid said they were "disappointed" with the OFT's decision to refer the deal to the Competition Commission. Chris van der Kuyl, chief executive of Brightsolid, said: "We believe the merger will be good for competition and good for consumers." A ruling is expected by April 16 2010.