UK watchdog clears eBay's planned acquisition of Depop from Etsy

Britain's competition regulator on Wednesday cleared eBay's planned takeover of fashion resale platform Depop, concluding an initial probe and removing a potential hurdle for the U.S.-based company in closing the deal.

Here are some details:

• eBay announced in February that it would buy Depop from Etsy for about $1.2 billion, in hopes of expanding its appeal among younger shoppers and increase its presence in the growing resale fashion market.
• Britain's Competition and Markets Authority began a formal review of the deal last month, during which interested parties were asked to provide views on the deal's impact on competition in the country.
• The CMA said it decided not to refer the deal to an in-depth, so-called phase 2 probe; deadline for concluding the phase 1 investigation was August 6.
• eBay could not be immediately reached for comment outside business hours.