CMA clears eBay’s acquisition of Depop

On July 15, 2026, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) unconditionally cleared eBay’s acquisition of Depop, following previous unconditional clearances by the US's Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

eBay and Depop both operate online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplaces for apparel recommerce.

RBB supported the Parties in the CMA, FTC and ACCC's investigations. RBB made a number of economic submissions addressing, among other matters, market shares, the Parties’ competitive positioning, differences between their user bases, patterns of multi-homing and switching, and the competitive constraints imposed by other platforms.

The CMA concluded that the transaction would not give rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition. It found that eBay and Depop did not compete particularly closely, noting differences in their user demographics, as well as limited overlap and switching between their respective buyers and sellers. The CMA also found that the merged business would continue to face significant competitive constraints from alternative platforms, supported by the prevalence of multi-homing and cross-listing.

RBB’s team, led by Adrian MajumdarAdrian MajumdarPartner and Alex SuchanekAlex SuchanekPrincipal, supported by Yihan DongYihan DongSenior Associate and Adam KeyworthAdam KeyworthSenior Associate, assisted Freshfields in the UK and US, and Gilbert + Tobin in Australia.