Antitrust

Antitrust watchdogs go big on drama, light on plot

1 Aug 2022

Penguin’s merger with fellow publisher Simon & Schuster is going to trial; Facebook owner Meta faces a battle over its deal with a virtual fitness firm. Both cases test out new storylines crafted by the U.S. competition watchdogs. But by getting creative they risk missing meatier targets.

Apple’s reveal party glosses over bigger shifts

7 Jun 2022

The iPhone maker’s developer conference can bring major product drops. This year’s announcements, like buy-now-pay-later and medication tracking features, barely move the needle. What will, though, is Apple’s quiet creep into advertising, percolating beneath the surface.

Deal odds in the face of market pain

19 May 2022

Market pain is changing the math for arbitrageurs, as targets' shares may drop further if mergers fail. A Breakingviews calculator shows the odds of a deal going through. Run the numbers here.

Spirit shareholders are flying without a pilot

16 May 2022

JetBlue launched a $3.3 bln hostile, all-cash offer for the ultra-cheap carrier. That’s almost 60% more than Spirit’s agreed cash-and-stock deal with Frontier. A JetBlue tie-up could face more antitrust scrutiny. But without an open process, Spirit shareholders are on their own.

ICE’s Black Knight deal has antitrust snare

13 May 2022

The NYSE owner is paying a big premium to round out its mortgage tech dominance with the servicing-focused Black Knight. But the combination looks to pose antitrust problems, and a loose merger agreement gives ICE room to blow up the deal if it runs into resistance.

Capital Calls: JetBlue antitrust risk haunts Spirit

2 May 2022

Concise views on global finance: The low-cost U.S. airline rejected its midmarket rival's takeover offer. Spirit reckons that even a price 50% higher than its agreed sale to Frontier doesn't compensate for Washington's anti-merger stance.

Twitter’s habitat lacks natural predators

18 Apr 2022

Elon Musk’s $41 bln bid has put the social network in play, but closing a deal is harder. The Tesla boss may struggle to recruit partners, while meager earnings make it a stretch for private equity. Tech giants face antitrust concerns and toxic content will put off media suitors.

Antitrust worries can ground JetBlue’s Spirit bid

6 Apr 2022

The U.S. airline’s shock $3.6 bln bid for its ultra-budget rival offers few cost savings and could lead to higher fares. That increases the risk that competition regulators – or Spirit’s board – stop it getting off the ground. For skeptical shareholders, that would be a relief.

Capital Calls: Microsoft’s Activision deal

31 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: The software giant’s $69 bln acquisition of the “Call of Duty” publisher comes with a ton of baggage. That could be why Activision shares are trading at a wide discount to the deal price.

Alphabet fiddles as app-store antitrust fire burns

24 Mar 2022

The $1.8 trln Google parent will let Spotify use its own payment service, skirting a 15% fee. The move piles pressure on rival Apple to do the same. But it’s just a pilot project and probably still includes a hefty charge. U.S. and EU regulators may force the duo to go further.

EU’s faster, harder stick will whack U.S. big tech

22 Mar 2022

Existing antitrust law is too slow to prevent digital monopolies and too weak to create competition. New European rules, with a focus on prevention, will remedy that. The market is big enough and potential penalties so damaging that Apple and others need to take notice.

M&A honchos try U.S. trustbusters in absentia

18 Mar 2022

A big risk to deals is regulatory pushback, and that starts with FTC chief Lina Khan. Top advisers at a New Orleans confab are attacking what they call “bias.” There are broader headwinds, too. But in reality mergers are mostly experiencing rational checks and balances.

Amazon one-ups No. 1 antitrust critic Lina Khan

4 Mar 2022

Time may be running out for the FTC to review the $1.5 trn e-commerce giant’s $8.5 bln deal for MGM. The agency’s chair rose to prominence urging lawmakers to rethink monopoly laws using Amazon as exhibit A. She may struggle to show that her bite is as big as her bark.

UnitedHealth deal block is Big Tech’s pre-op

24 Feb 2022

U.S. merger cops want to stop the healthcare goliath’s $8 bln union with Change Healthcare. Regulators’ worries are less about cornering a market than the buyer’s access to sensitive information. That sets a precedent for antitrust surgery on data-hoarders in Silicon Valley.

Lockheed deal flop is just antitrust amuse-bouche

14 Feb 2022

The defense giant dropped its deal with Aerojet after a challenge by the FTC. It’s less a statement by a newly aggressive regulator, and more a sign traditional competition gauges still hold. Looming tech deals are where FTC firebrand Lina Khan will test her more ambitious goals.

Busted bank cartel case leaves pieces to pick up

11 Feb 2022

Australian prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Citi and Deutsche Bank over a 2015 share sale for lender ANZ. The lawsuit smacked of overreach and was dragging on too long. It also bared unsavoury investment-banking practices. There are lessons to learn for all involved.

The Exchange: Margrethe Vestager

8 Feb 2022

Europe’s antitrust tsar is responsible for keeping U.S. digital behemoths in check and making sure that the bloc doesn’t slip too far behind on technology. She joined Liam Proud to talk about a string of recent court losses and the future of competition policy.

Facebook $250 bln slump punctures antitrust case

7 Feb 2022

That’s how much Mark Zuckerberg’s firm Meta Platforms lost in value after growth stalled. Competition from TikTok specifically is getting tough, but U.S. antitrust regulators who are fighting Facebook have said the Chinese-owned app isn’t a rival. The market begs to differ.

Capital Calls: Antitrust game of chicken

31 Jan 2022

Concise views on global finance: President Joe Biden’s administration is hypersensitive to mergers that reduce competition. Sectors that have also experienced inflation may be top of the hit list – like poultry production.

Microsoft’s scale and M&A invite scrutiny

25 Jan 2022

The $2.2 trln software giant's quarterly sales jumped 20% last quarter. Boss Satya Nadella has outperformed many Big Tech peers of late. After last week's deal to buy Activision for $69 bln, Microsoft's uncanny ability to avoid regulators' crosshairs may be running out.