H&R Block drops bid to buy software firm

11/16/2011
BLADE STAFF AND WIRE SERVICES

NEW YORK — H&R Block Inc. is formally dropping its bid to buy the maker of TaxACT software, after a federal judge thwarted the deal over anti-trust concerns.

The nation’s largest tax preparer said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it agreed to end its $287.5 million bid for 2SS Holdings Inc.

Kansas City, Mo.-based H&R Block said in October, 2010, that it planned to buy the company, which makes software that is used to file about 5 million returns a year. The move was widely considered as a way to boost Block’s digital business.