Antitrust review might show Google still has a Waze to go
Posted by: Jon on 06/24/2013 08:26 AM
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Google confirmed that the FTC has contacted them regarding the recent acquisition of Israeli map app company Waze. The acquisition was announced Tuesday, which effectively ended several months of speculation involving Waze, the Ra’anana-based crowdsourced driving and navigation app, which has more than 50 million users worldwide.
Some antitrust lawyers say it is unlikely the FTC would ask Google to unwind the deal. In order to break it up, the agency would have to uncover evidence that the deal would significantly crimp competition in the mapping market.
Waze’s revenue was too low to trigger an automatic review by the agency, but it can examine such deals even after they close.
Lawyers familiar with government antitrust investigations say the FTC may have asked Google not to integrate with Waze, pending its review.
The FTC would have to determine whether Waze would have become a head-to-head competitor with Google, whose Google Maps software is the dominant digital mapping and navigation service around the world, or whether there is any evidence, such as emails, that showed Google wanted to acquire the company only to keep it from rivals.
Google generates an undisclosed amount of revenue from licensing Google Maps to other websites and mobile apps. The Waze deal is the fourth-largest by dollar value in the company’s 15-year history.
Some antitrust lawyers say it is unlikely the FTC would ask Google to unwind the deal. In order to break it up, the agency would have to uncover evidence that the deal would significantly crimp competition in the mapping market.
Waze’s revenue was too low to trigger an automatic review by the agency, but it can examine such deals even after they close.
Lawyers familiar with government antitrust investigations say the FTC may have asked Google not to integrate with Waze, pending its review.
The FTC would have to determine whether Waze would have become a head-to-head competitor with Google, whose Google Maps software is the dominant digital mapping and navigation service around the world, or whether there is any evidence, such as emails, that showed Google wanted to acquire the company only to keep it from rivals.
Google generates an undisclosed amount of revenue from licensing Google Maps to other websites and mobile apps. The Waze deal is the fourth-largest by dollar value in the company’s 15-year history.
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