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"Google is going to increase or fully acquire Uber." Talk about a "God's View", they'd be literally begging for regulator's attention if they tried buying Uber

CamperBob2 9y ago
So now's the time to do it, in other words.
dragonwriter 9y ago
> they'd be literally begging for regulator's attention if they tried buying Uber How so? Regulatory attention of mergers isn't based on prospective dominance of markets which don't yet exist, in most jurisdictions.
- wonder_bread 9y ago
  It would be a prospective purchase in regards to autonomous driving software but Uber holds a current dominating market share in ride-sharing. They could potentially single-handedly create fear of an information monopoly and be the impetus for the fed's to look at re-writing anti-trust. It's almost too sexy of an acquisition at a time when governments seem to be losing trust in them. I could be wrong obviously, but that would just seem like a bad idea in the long term, both for the price, and for the microscope it would put on them.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    > It would be a prospective purchase in regards to autonomous driving software but Uber holds a current dominating market share in ride-sharing. Do they? Specifically, do they have pricing power? Market share (even superficially dominant share) where competitors or substitute services are present and business moves in response to relative price changes isn't market power.
    - wonder_bread 9y ago
      I would argue against that, I couldn't think of anything more powerful in an industry than a company that could use it's tens of billions of dollars in operating profit annually to fund their efforts to dominate ride-sharing as well. You are making a good point, but although there is a fine line in regards to its prospective market power until they can make it profitable and sustain it afterward, I don't see how this doesn't lead to bad things for them down the road even if it something like this did get approval
stale2002 9y ago
I am not so sure. Google and uber don't directly compete in many areas. In order for regulators to stop the deal, there would have to be a competitive concern. The only area that they "compete" in is self driving cars. But that market literally doesn't exist yet, so it is a hard argument to make that this would be anticompetitive.

CamperBob2 9y ago

So now's the time to do it, in other words.

dragonwriter 9y ago

> they'd be literally begging for regulator's attention if they tried buying Uber How so? Regulatory attention of mergers isn't based on prospective dominance of markets which don't yet exist, in most jurisdictions.

wonder_bread 9y ago
It would be a prospective purchase in regards to autonomous driving software but Uber holds a current dominating market share in ride-sharing. They could potentially single-handedly create fear of an information monopoly and be the impetus for the fed's to look at re-writing anti-trust. It's almost too sexy of an acquisition at a time when governments seem to be losing trust in them. I could be wrong obviously, but that would just seem like a bad idea in the long term, both for the price, and for the microscope it would put on them.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > It would be a prospective purchase in regards to autonomous driving software but Uber holds a current dominating market share in ride-sharing. Do they? Specifically, do they have pricing power? Market share (even superficially dominant share) where competitors or substitute services are present and business moves in response to relative price changes isn't market power.
  - wonder_bread 9y ago
    I would argue against that, I couldn't think of anything more powerful in an industry than a company that could use it's tens of billions of dollars in operating profit annually to fund their efforts to dominate ride-sharing as well. You are making a good point, but although there is a fine line in regards to its prospective market power until they can make it profitable and sustain it afterward, I don't see how this doesn't lead to bad things for them down the road even if it something like this did get approval

stale2002 9y ago

I am not so sure. Google and uber don't directly compete in many areas. In order for regulators to stop the deal, there would have to be a competitive concern. The only area that they "compete" in is self driving cars. But that market literally doesn't exist yet, so it is a hard argument to make that this would be anticompetitive.