Antitrust

U.S. regulators toss another wrench into M&A

13 January 2020

Washington’s deal enforcers are rethinking four decades of antitrust oversight by proposing a new set of guidelines. The refresh is overdue and needed following the meddling in AT&T’s deal for Time Warner. But it adds questions to a market already fraught with uncertainty.

Mark Zuckerberg can be his own activist investor

6 January 2020

Keeping shareholders happy isn’t necessarily compatible with cleaning up data abuses and toxic content. But Facebook’s CEO needn’t change his professed ideals. He could change the company’s legal form so it can better serve society – and put his supervoting power to good use.

Team Trump will steal Warren’s tech thunder

26 December 2019

The Democratic presidential candidate has made breaking up Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Amazon a key part of her campaign. But the White House could use a recent antitrust probe to make the case first, and effectively mute much of Warren’s roar.

T-Mobile Sprint antitrust defense has a hole in it

20 December 2019

America’s No. 3 and No. 4 telecom firms are fighting state regulators to keep their $26 bln deal on track. Federal watchdogs want to preserve competition by making the companies help Dish build a new fourth mobile carrier. That only works if Dish is up to the job. It may not be.

Margrethe Vestager will open tech’s walled garden

20 December 2019

The European antitrust chief’s multibillion-dollar fines had little impact on the 12-digit market values of Google, Facebook and others. She will weaken their grip on the internet more effectively in 2020 by imposing common standards that allow seamless use of rival platforms.

Viewsroom: Jack Dorsey’s heroic year ahead

19 December 2019

From banning political ads to developing cryptocurrency plans, the CEO of Twitter and Square has been politically more astute than rivals like Facebook. That sets him up for a good 2020. Also: the different ways that shareholders, the Fed and M&A bankers will tackle climate risk.

App stores are tech’s next Battle Royale

17 December 2019

Google and Apple collect enormous fees through their dominant online app stores. Those are coming under attack – Fortnite owner Epic Games is the latest to lob a grenade. If regulators seek new ways to challenge Silicon Valley, these distribution channels are an easy target.

EU single market is better exported than muzzled

4 December 2019

The Netherlands wants the European Union to apply state aid rules to companies backed by foreign governments. That would hike Chinese import prices. Yet Europe’s economic heft gives scope to negotiate, and is better than breaking EU rules to create Siemens-Alstom-style champions.

Guest view: Europe beating U.S. in antitrust race

26 November 2019

American regulators are getting ready to put big tech companies through their paces. But it’s Europe that has been keeping big companies in check for years – and other countries are starting to look to the EU for leadership. A new study shows the U.S. is falling badly behind.

YouTube spinoff would be a must-watch

15 November 2019

The video service is stifled under parent Alphabet, which is valued more like Twitter than faster-growing Netflix. Sharing a stable with search engine Google hurts both in dealing with separate regulatory probes. And Alphabet’s siloed setup means it’s part way to a split already.

Holding: Watchdogs may deserve two bites at deals

31 October 2019

Unwinding Facebook’s Instagram purchase or other previously cleared mergers seems unfair – and costly. Yet recent research shows many tie-ups have caused unforeseen harm. Allowing regulators limited do-overs would pass legal muster and could help consumers and investors alike.

Hadas: Different rules for new corporate giants

30 October 2019

Cheaper information and global markets have produced a new generation of vast and entrenched companies. Abuses of competitive power are likely, but old-style breakups don’t work. Lawmakers and enforcers need to monitor behaviour – and maybe even control prices.

EU’s Broadcom attack is a teaser for larger fights

16 October 2019

Antitrust boss Margrethe Vestager is temporarily halting some of the $114 bln chipmaker’s supply deals with customers. That’s a more responsive way to tackle Big Tech’s effect on competition than drawing up rules. The likes of Facebook and Google may soon face similar showdowns.

Viewsroom: Mark Zuckerberg is stuck in 2006

3 October 2019

That’s when the Facebook CEO rejected Yahoo’s $1 bln takeover bid. Now he uses the decision to justify his grip on control and decisions on data, privacy and the chance of a breakup under a Democratic president. Plus: How a spat over shrubbery almost felled Credit Suisse’s CEO.

Zuckerberg grasps big problem with tech breakups

1 October 2019

The Facebook boss expects the U.S. to try and dissect the social network if Democratic detractors win office. His argument: Making tech firms smaller would be counterproductive in preventing election interference. He’s right on both counts. That could be Facebook’s best defense.

U.S. antitrust effort cries out for a monopoly

19 September 2019

The U.S. Department of Justice and FTC admit to squabbling over turf as they target the likes of Amazon and Facebook. Both agencies also could use more money and people to take on deep-pocketed tech giants. Pooling resources and power through a merger is a natural solution.

EU merits new kudos for keeping old antitrust tsar

10 September 2019

Denmark’s Margrethe Vestager will keep the competition portfolio in Ursula von der Leyen’s new European Commission team. That shows a willingness to fight tech giants like Google and to resist Franco-German plans to water down antitrust rules. Von der Leyen has made a good start.

Tencent is stuck in a losing battle with Beijing

28 August 2019

A year after a video-games crackdown hit the web giant, its $21 bln music-streaming arm may be under antitrust scrutiny. That makes Pony Ma's hopes of building an entertainment empire look fragile. It’s a reminder too that China's tolerance of its new economy champions is waning.

Tech will struggle to evade U.S. antitrust octopus

20 August 2019

Facebook and Apple may soon face state-level probes into their business practices, as well as two by federal agencies. America’s multi-tentacled approach to antitrust is a tangled mess, but a strangely efficient one. It may also favor a tougher end result.

Del Vecchio’s grand M&A vision needs clearer focus

26 July 2019

Having merged his Luxottica frames empire with lens maker Essilor, Leonardo Del Vecchio is offering 7 bln euro for retailer GrandVision. A deal will double his share of Europe’s eyewear market. But it brings few savings and adds extra complexity to a group with messy governance.