Antitrust

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.

Big Tech deserves Wall Street-like global cop

21 May 2019

The G20 helped rein in systemically risky banks after the financial crisis by creating the Financial Stability Board to develop new rules. Adapting that approach to set up an Internet Accountability Board would be a smart way to police the likes of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

T-Mobile US wins game of national champions

20 May 2019

Its $26 bln merger with rival telecom Sprint is likely to be approved. There was little reason to block it. Still, taken with a U.S. ban on China’s Huawei and last year’s nixing of a bid for chipmaker Qualcomm, it’s clear keeping 5G in American hands is now a national priority.

Viewsroom: The lasting effects of Trump’s tariffs

16 May 2019

Washington and Beijing may yet find a way to end their escalating trade war soon. But for many businesses, the damage already inflicted will be hard to undo. Plus: CEO Mark Zuckerberg might not welcome more calls to break up Facebook, but shareholders could benefit.