Analysis Group Supports Successful Defense of Challenged Meta/Within Unlimited Merger

April 7, 2023

Analysis Group was retained on behalf of Meta Platforms in its bid to acquire Within Unlimited, the creator of a virtual reality (VR) fitness app called Supernatural. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenged the merger, arguing that Meta had the capability to develop its own rival to Supernatural, and that its acquisition of Within Unlimited would harm competition in the VR fitness market. It sought a preliminary injunction blocking the acquisition.

An Analysis Group team led by Managing Principal Rebecca Kirk Fair, Vice President Emily Cotton, and Managers Heather Banic, Catherine Gendron-Saulnier, and Jake Merrill provided consulting support to counsel for Meta from the period prior to Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filings through the litigation process.

A judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of California refused to enjoin the acquisition, holding that the FTC had failed to show the Meta was likely to enter the VR fitness market independent of the Within acquisition, and hence that the acquisition was likely to harm consumers. The FTC subsequently abandoned its challenge.