FTC launches probe into Facebook's Instagram buyout

0160(4)4updated 04:29 pm EDT, Thu May 10, 2012 Investigation is described as 'routine' for value

The US Federal Trade Commission is launching a competition investigation regarding Facebook's recent $1 billion buyout of Instagram, say two sources for the Financial Times. The effort has allegedly already begun, with the FTC starting to collect information from "at least two" of Facebook's biggest competitors. The probe is described as routine for deals worth more than $68.2 million, but could delay the Instagram acquisition well past when Facebook told investors things would be completed.In IPO documents published last month, the company said it expected the acquisition to be finished in the second quarter. Experts contacted by the Times suggest, though, that the investigation could delay the deal's close by six months to a year. "They

View the Original article