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I don't care about this particular decision. That said, it's interesting that approval for mergers and acquisitions: * Has become an international affair where

I don't care about this particular decision. That said, it's interesting that approval for mergers and acquisitions: * Has become an international affair where not just big but small countries expect a veto. * Is not predictable. This and other deals have been approved in some jurisdictions but then refused in others. And without apparent reason why what is a monopoly in one place isn't in others. * Take very long periods of time (this deal was first announced on may 2020, didn't get provisional refusal until August 2021 and now is still uncertain). Imagine trying to run a company for 18 months while your existence and entire future is entirely down to the flip of a coin. Imagine the possibility for corruption and nepotism and backroom deals. I'd really like to see some simplification in this area before it goes bad. The Arm NVidea acquisition is just as bad. Publicly announced over a year ago. Europe just opened an investigation. What have they been doing for a year? What happens when someone in that office let's drop that for 0.1% of the deal price he can make it happen, or they can wait another few years for a preliminary refusal?

klelatti 5y ago
> * Has become an international affair where not just big but small countries expect a veto. Small countries have the right to control what happens in their own markets too. > * Is not predictable. This and other deals have been approved in some jurisdictions but then refused in others. And without apparent reason why what is a monopoly in one place isn't in others. Different countries have different laws. > * Take very long periods of time (this deal was first announced on may 2020, didn't get provisional refusal until August 2021 and now is still uncertain). It takes time to gather data etc. > Imagine trying to run a company for 18 months while your existence and entire future is entirely down to the flip of a coin. It's not the flip of a coin. Atm / Nvidia is not great but the regulatory risk was entirely predictable and clearly Softbank was prepared to take that risk. Personally, I think it should be blocked and quickly.

klelatti 5y ago

> * Has become an international affair where not just big but small countries expect a veto. Small countries have the right to control what happens in their own markets too. > * Is not predictable. This and other deals have been approved in some jurisdictions but then refused in others. And without apparent reason why what is a monopoly in one place isn't in others. Different countries have different laws. > * Take very long periods of time (this deal was first announced on may 2020, didn't get provisional refusal until August 2021 and now is still uncertain). It takes time to gather data etc. > Imagine trying to run a company for 18 months while your existence and entire future is entirely down to the flip of a coin. It's not the flip of a coin. Atm / Nvidia is not great but the regulatory risk was entirely predictable and clearly Softbank was prepared to take that risk. Personally, I think it should be blocked and quickly.