YouTube spinoff would be a must-watch 15 Nov 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 Oct 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 Oct 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 Oct 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 Oct 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 Oct 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 Sep 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 Sep 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 Aug 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 Aug 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 Jul 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.
Viewsroom: UK’s new PM looks for the exit 25 Jul 2019 Boris Johnson helped persuade Britons to vote to leave the EU. London’s former mayor now leads the country – and may find his pledge to quit the European bloc hard to keep. Meanwhile, U.S. watchdogs are circling Amazon, Alphabet, Apple and Facebook. Plus: Protests rock Hong Kong.
EU Amazon case pushes tech towards utility status 17 Jul 2019 Antitrust tsar Margrethe Vestager may probe the $990 billion group’s use of merchants’ data. That would fit with a wider European drive to stop technology companies’ platforms from favouring their own services. Tighter rules will, however, cement bigger players’ dominance.
Reckitt’s new boss gets a $1.4 bln painkiller 11 Jul 2019 The Nurofen-maker paid three times more than it had put aside to settle allegations over its selling of opioid drugs. The payment preserves Reckitt’s access to the U.S. baby-food market. Incoming CEO Laxman Narasimhan can focus on bigger problems, like reviving its health unit.
John Malone’s M&A nous gets short shrift in Europe 28 Jun 2019 The cable cowboy’s Liberty Global should get $15 bln of cash from Swiss and German asset sales. A lowly share price means investors are worried Malone will waste the money. That’s unmerited: share buybacks and further selloffs seem likelier than a risky acquisition.
Big Tech risks crowding out other antitrust ills 20 Jun 2019 Google, Amazon and others deserve the scrutiny they’re getting from U.S. officials, but that leaves less room to probe concentration in other areas. Take a rash of mergers between hospitals, for example. Silicon Valley isn’t the only industry in need of a regulatory colonoscopy.
T-Mobile US backlash reveals M&A regulatory risk 11 Jun 2019 U.S. states are suing to block the firm from acquiring Sprint on antitrust grounds. The move defies telecom’s top watchdog but could stiffen opposition at the Department of Justice. Dealmakers who used to count on government agencies to coordinate may now face crossed lines.
Google and Amazon are the antitrust appetizer 3 Jun 2019 U.S. regulators may be divvying up oversight of the tech giants, paving the way for potential investigations. Facebook ought to worry too. The social network creates less overt competition risk, but the experience of vetting Google and Amazon could guide tougher fights.
Cox: “China does it” is a bad antitrust argument 23 May 2019 Sheryl Sandberg says Facebook shouldn’t break up since its Middle Kingdom rivals never will. France and Germany pushed hard for an anti-competitive train merger because of a looming Chinese monopoly. Western values should guide competition law, not Beijing’s Communist Party.
Qualcomm, Sprint show U.S. policy blowing in wind 22 May 2019 A judge ruled against the $94 bln chipmaker in an Obama-era case the current administration failed to stop. The DOJ may block the FCC-recommended $26 bln telecom merger with T-Mobile US. Such cases highlight the random nature of Trump-era oversight. That’s bad for business.