Google's Potential HubSpot Acquisition Sparks Antitrust Concerns

Quincy Jon, Tech Times 08 April 2024, 12:04 pm

Several analysts believe Alphabet's possible acquisition of HubSpot would not hinder competition, but regulators may object, which could lead to a situation where the Google parent would have to fight antitrust regulators on a new front.

Alphabet might acquire HubSpot, worth $34 billion, according to Reuters. Google is still considering the acquisition's antitrust implications before making a decision.

Many antitrust experts and industry observers suspect Google's acquisition of HubSpot would hurt competition. They claim that Salesforce, Adobe, Microsoft, and Oracle dominate the customer relationship management (CRM) software market, where HubSpot operates. Since Google does not compete directly in CRM, analysts believe the purchase might boost HubSpot's competitiveness by using Google's cloud computing resources to increase customer offers and prices.

Despite these views, analysts expect US and European antitrust regulators to dispute a Google-HubSpot agreement. Google may face a protracted and bitter legal struggle as authorities become less willing to let tech giants acquire. According to former Senate antitrust subcommittee general counsel Seth Bloom, antitrust officials will likely oppose such a merger.

Google and HubSpot have not yet commented on the issue.

Google Already Facing Antitrust Cases

Google is facing various antitrust cases, including US Department of Justice allegations that it abused its search and digital advertising dominance.

In March, EU officials began investigating Apple, Google, and Meta under a new rule meant to reduce Big Tech's dominance in digital markets. The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation EU, is investigating corporations for "non-compliance" with the Digital Markets Act.

According to CBS News, the comprehensive Digital Markets Act targets Big Tech "gatekeeper" organizations that provide "core platform services." These corporations must comply with the criteria or face financial penalties or structural divestments. These guidelines aim to create fairer and more competitive digital marketplaces by breaking down closed tech ecosystems that limit customer choice to a single company's products or services.

The commission noted in a media release that it suspects these gatekeepers' DMA compliance procedures fall short.

(Photo : LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)

A picture taken on November 20, 2017 shows logos of US multinational technology company Google displayed on computers' screens.

Many IT firms have avoided significant acquisitions due to antitrust concerns. The next major acquisition was Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, which met British regulatory issues. Adobe had to cancel its $20 billion bid for Figma owing to antitrust concerns in Europe and Britain, illustrating the digital giants' regulatory hurdles.

Vimeo Appoints Google Executive

This development comes after reports over Vimeo's appointment of Google Cloud senior executive Philip Moyer as its CEO. Moyer, an AI specialist, has been VP of Alphabet's Google Cloud Strategic Industries group since July 2019. He brings extensive expertise to his new post, according to a previous TechTimes report.

Moyer worked at top IT organizations before joining Google Cloud. He was CEO of Cassiopae, a French commercial banking software business, and Edgar Online, a financial data and analytics service. He was also Amazon Web Services' Director of Financial Services.

Moyer supervised industry teams, service groups, and global customer teams at Microsoft for 15 years. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a computer science degree, he became a nuclear submarine software engineer at GE Aerospace.

Moyer will replace Adam Gross as CEO, with Gross moving to the board. Vimeo wants to leverage Moyer's tech sector skills; thus, this leadership shift is crucial.