By Colin Kellaher


Federal regulators are taking a closer look at International Business Machines' planned $6.4 billion acquisition of cloud-software company HashiCorp amid increased government scrutiny of U.S. dealmaking.

HashiCorp on Monday said the companies have received requests from the Federal Trade Commission for additional information and documentary materials as the antitrust enforcer reviews the deal.

The so-called second requests by the FTC signals the agency is reviewing whether the transaction could be anticompetitive under U.S. law.

IBM in April unveiled the agreement to buy San Francisco-based HashiCorp, extending the Armonk, N.Y., tech company's push into cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

HashiCorp said the companies plan to promptly respond to the FTC's request and to continue working cooperatively with the agency as it reviews the deal, which is slated to close by the end of the year.

The IBM/HashiCorp tie-up is the latest deal to draw the attention of the FTC, which has become more active under the Biden administration in taking action against large mergers.

The agency has sought more information on several large deals in the oil patch, including last week's second request related to ConocoPhillips' planned $17 billion acquisition of Marathon Oil.

In April, the FTC sued to block the $8.5 billion union of premium handbag makers Tapestry and Capri Holdings.


Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-15-24 0720ET