Antitrust

Microsoft can answer antitrust “Call of Duty”

13 Feb 2023

UK regulators say selling the video game would ease their concerns over the software giant’s $69 bln purchase of Activision Blizzard. A disposal would be chunky, and boss Satya Nadella won’t want to leave it behind. But even without the franchise, the acquisition still stacks up.

Meta exposes danger of trustbusting virtual risks

1 Feb 2023

Facebook’s owner won in court over U.S. efforts to block its acquisition of fitness-app developer Within. It trips up regulators trying to avoid missing another Instagram, with judges unpersuaded by future competition worries – a bad omen for the FTC’s case against Microsoft.

Biden’s antitrust playbook values shots on goal

25 Jan 2023

In addition to suing Google over a 15-year-old deal, the White House is using an arcane 1936 law to fight perceived competition problems. A trio of court losses undercuts the aggressive strategy. With no sign of a letup, however, big companies will have to fortify their defenses.

Google ad lawsuit reaches back to the future

24 Jan 2023

The Alphabet-owned search giant is in hot water with U.S. prosecutors who say its digital ad business is anticompetitive, citing deals it did 15 years ago. Google may be dominant, but regulators let it get that way. Meanwhile, the market has already started to create its own fix.

Microsoft’s AI bet: heads I win, tails I also win

10 Jan 2023

If the software giant’s mooted $10 bln investment in ChatGPT's maker goes well, it could reshape Microsoft’s business. If it flops, CEO Satya Nadella will have stopped a rival getting hold of a hot AI property. Creative financial structuring cuts Microsoft’s risk even further.

EU is stuck playing catch-up with Amazon and Apple

5 Jan 2023

Antitrust tsar Margrethe Vestager wrung concessions from the $880 bln e-commerce giant, while the iPhone maker could open to third-party app stores. That sounds like progress, but the giants could have other tricks up their sleeves. Enforcers will be left racing to keep up.

Microsoft’s $69 bln deal runs on European time

21 Dec 2022

A U.S. effort to block the software developer’s Activision acquisition promises to be a long and uphill climb. Brussels and London, however, could extract concessions sooner. It’s an indication of how other jurisdictions backstop increasingly hardline American regulators.

A solo Ticketmaster might attract financial fans

15 Dec 2022

Drums are beating to break up $17 bln Live Nation after it flubbed ticket sales for Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny. Lawmakers reckon a 2010 merger with Ticketmaster made the company too powerful. Setting aside legal and regulatory questions, there’s an investment case for a split.

The ghost of Instagram haunts Microsoft’s future

9 Dec 2022

When Facebook bought the photo-sharing site in 2012, regulators failed to see Mark Zuckerberg’s larger vision. Now the FTC is trying to block Microsoft’s $69 bln Activision deal, partly to stop future domination. Fighting on qualitative terms seems unfair but is inevitable.

Musk’s Apple fight could be his Twitter legacy

29 Nov 2022

The billionaire isn’t the first to criticize the smartphone maker for taking a cut from transactions on its app store. But owning Twitter gives Elon Musk a powerful megaphone. Taking a chunk out of Apple could even be the most durable outcome of Musk’s social media foray.

Slim-chance grocer lawsuit is real problem for M&A

4 Nov 2022

Washington attorneys won a temporary setback for grocer Albertsons on a $25 bln sale to Kroger. Arguments over a special dividend look stretched. Still, state meddling in deals is unusual. This opening salvo is one part of an expanding toolkit competition hawks will start to use.

Stephen King makes for unlikely antitrust hero

1 Nov 2022

A U.S. judge blocked Penguin’s $2.2 bln deal with rival publisher Simon & Schuster, after watchdogs argued it would unfairly limit pay for top authors. If the decision sticks, future mergers may be vetted based on their effect on workers as well as customers. It could get messy.

HSBC Canada exit could be a nice clean break

4 Oct 2022

The Anglo-Asian lender is diminutive in a market dominated by a few giants. That, though, might make it easier to sell its profitable Canadian operations without too much antitrust and politics. Tiptoeing away from Canada’s carbon-intensive energy sector can’t hurt either.

Capital Calls: Buffett’s Berkshire successor

4 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Omaha oracle owns $100 bln of stock in his conglomerate. His potential successor Greg Abel’s purchase of $68 mln of stock last week – after selling shares in a subsidiary for $870 mln in June – is too small a move toward Buffett’s standard.

Italy’s first female leader, Amazon’s monopoly

22 Sep 2022

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni is favourite to become prime minister after Sunday’s election. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate how she will handle Rome’s debt, which is expected to reach 148% of GDP. And: the online retail giant’s antitrust battle.

Capital Calls: Ralph Lauren

19 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $6 bln retailer known for its iconic Polo shirts is cheaply valued compared to European counterparts.

Big Tech has its moment to take on Lina Khan

12 Sep 2022

The FTC under her tenure faced its first major blow this month when a judge ruled in favor of Illumina. It shows how weak the FTC’s legal position is. While Khan has raised the cost of doing deals, buyers with time, money and the inclination have an opening to push back.

Illumina deals FTC a painful glancing blow

1 Sep 2022

Competition hawk Lina Khan’s agency lost a bid to unwind DNA tester Illumina’s $7 bln purchase of Grail. There could be appeals, and Europe may still bust up the deal. But a rebuke from the FTC’s own judge shows the Biden administration’s antitrust push rests on shaky ground.

India M&A veto plans will shake world’s dealmakers

5 Aug 2022

New Delhi is set to give its antitrust enforcer a bigger say on overseas deals. It may have missed the boat in stymieing tie-ups among Big Tech, which have a huge user-base in the country. If India, like China, uses those powers for industrial aims, it will have a chilling effect.

Capital Calls: UK antitrust watchdog/M&A

3 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Competition and Markets Authority’s change of heart over NortonLifeLock’s 6.2 bln pound takeover of UK group Avast was an opportunity for bold investors.