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UK: JD Sports responds to CMA’s probe

By  |  October 1, 2019

JD Sports has insisted that its £90 million takeover of Footasylum will not be bad for shoppers as it faces a full-scale probe by the UK’s peak competition watchdog.

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    Following the CMA’s Phase 1 decision on September 19, the watchdog has decided to go ahead with an investigation into the takeover.

    The probe is a result of growing concerns that the takeover could potentially result in higher prices and less competition.

    JD Sports stated that it has informed the CMA it does not think there are any remedies that it could currently offer to avoid the next stage of the investigation, known as Phase 2.

    “The CMA has referred their review of this acquisition to Phase 2 on the basis that it could be bad for competition and may have an impact on price,” JD Sports executive chairman Peter Cowgill said.

    Full Content: Reatil Gazzette

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    Musk Says Coalition of Tech Firms Supports His Case Against Apple Musk Says Coalition of Tech Firms Supports His Case Against Apple

    Musk Says Coalition of Tech Firms Supports His Case Against Apple

    By  |  August 12, 2025

    Elon Musk has found allies in a coalition of technology companies as he threatens legal action against Apple over alleged anticompetitive practices in the App Store, according to AOL. The Tesla founder and X owner claims Apple is giving preferential treatment to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, while limiting visibility for his own products, including the social media platform X and the Grok AI chatbot.

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      Musk announced on X that his AI company, xAI, will take “immediate legal action” against Apple, describing the situation as “unequivocal antitrust” behavior. He accused the iPhone maker of excluding both X and Grok from its “Must Have” app section despite their high rankings, while promoting ChatGPT in multiple curated lists. Apple partnered with OpenAI in 2024 to integrate ChatGPT into its “Apple Intelligence” features, per Bloomberg.

      The Coalition for a Competitive Mobile Experience (CCME), an industry group that includes Meta, Spotify and Garmin, has publicly supported Musk’s stance. Led by antitrust veteran Brandon Kressin, the coalition argues that Apple’s App Store rules unfairly disadvantage third-party developers. In a statement posted on X, CCME said it welcomed Musk’s involvement in a broader fight to loosen Apple’s grip on app distribution.

      Read more: Elon Musk Targets Apple With Antitrust Lawsuit Over App Store Rankings

      According to CCME’s website, the group represents a variety of companies advocating for a more open and competitive mobile ecosystem. Bloomberg reports that CCME has long criticized Apple for favoring its own services and placing “harmful restrictions” on independent developers.

      Apple maintains on its website that the App Store is “highly curated” and that each app undergoes human and automated review to determine rankings and recommendations, according to Yahoo Finance.

      Musk’s confrontation with Apple adds to his growing list of legal battles. He is already suing OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015 but left years later, seeking to block the company’s transition to a for-profit model.

      Source: AOL