To recap, again in 2020, Meta introduced that it had acquired GIPHY in a deal reportedly price $400 million, with a view to integrating GIPHY’s community of GIF content material into its varied instruments. That deal was challenged within the UK on antitrust grounds, with the UK CMA then pushing to unwind the acquisition totally, because of issues that it will give Meta an unfair benefit within the UK digital adverts market.

I imply, Meta’s community is already fairly large, and GIPHY wouldn’t seemingly add a heap to it. However the view acknowledged by the CMA was that GIPHY’s personal advert ambitions would assist to bolster Meta’s exercise, increasing its already important market presence.

Since then, Meta and the CMA have been locked in ongoing court docket battles within the UK, which has basically put the GIPHY deal on maintain.

However now, it could be coming to an finish, with the court docket rejecting the CMA’s case.

As per Bloomberg:

“A choose quashed the Competitors and Markets Authority’s order that Meta should promote Giphy, in response to a ruling made public Monday. The case will now be referred again to the CMA for the watchdog to rethink whether or not the deal would cut back competitors out there for show promoting and social media providers.”

So it sounds just like the CMA’s case could not maintain up, which may see Meta absolutely integrating GIPHY someday quickly.

What precisely that appears like, no person is aware of, as GIPHY content material is already built-in into Meta’s apps, in varied methods. However it could see extra GIF instruments introduced into the publish creation course of inside Fb and Instagram particularly, whereas it may additionally see Meta re-assessing GIPHYs present partnerships with rival apps, together with Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat and extra.

Curiously, GIPHY has established new content material partnerships with each TikTok and Reddit this yr, properly after the Meta deal was introduced. That appears a bit of odd, given their direct competitors with Meta’s apps, however perhaps the publicity worth is simply too nice for GIPHY to not allow such integrations – or perhaps, GIPHY is working totally unbiased of Meta for now, until the ultimate particulars of the UK court docket case are finalized.

We may discover out quickly – the CMA will now must reassess its case in opposition to the acquisition, and discover a new, extra compelling angle to oppose it. In any other case, the deal goes by, and GIPHY formally turns into a part of the Meta household.

Then we’ll see what Meta has within the works for brand new integrations of GIF content material.