What’s Next for PayPal as Britain Escalates Its iZettle Review?

Britain’s antitrust regulator, the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority), is referring PayPal’s (PYPL) takeover of iZettle for a thorough review, a process that could take months to complete and could throw the deal’s fate in the United Kingdom into uncertainty. The regulator said it was taking the step because PayPal had failed to demonstrate how it would address concerns related to the deal’s impact on the competition. PayPal acquired the business for $2.2 billion in a transaction that closed in September, but it decided to delay the complete absorption of iZettle to allow the United Kingdom to conclude its antitrust review of the deal.