Abstract

This paper discusses the acquisition of start-ups by major technology firms. Such transactions pose a significant anticompetitive threat, yet often escape competition scrutiny because they fail to trigger merger notification threshold tests. Alongside a financial analysis of historic acquisitions by Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft, the paper introduces a new threshold test—the economic goodwill test. The economic goodwill test is a concerned with the value of a target’s net tangible assets as a proportion of total transaction value. The difference between these figures largely represents the gains an acquirer expects to realise from a strengthened competitive position, therefore reflecting the logic driving the mass acquisition of technology start-ups. Although a specific triggering figure is not prescribed, the economic goodwill test represents a useful innovation that could bring potentially anticompetitive start-up acquisitions under substantive merger review. More broadly, the paper argues start-up acquisitions are representative of the difficulties that competition law faces governing economic activity in the era of financial capitalism. The modern financial system creates a strong bridge between the present and the distant future. This enables firms to engage in future-oriented competitive strategies that challenge competition law’s static approach.

中文翻译：

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金融资本主义对初创企业收购的看法：经济商誉测验的介绍

摘要

本文讨论了主要技术公司对初创企业的收购。此类交易构成了重大的反竞争威胁，但由于未能触发合并通知阈值测试，因此常常会遭到竞争审查。除了对谷歌，苹果，Facebook，亚马逊和微软进行的历史性收购进行财务分析外，本文还介绍了一种新的门槛测试—经济商誉测试。经济商誉测试涉及目标净有形资产的价值占交易总价值的比例。这些数字之间的差异在很大程度上代表了收购方期望从增强的竞争地位中实现的收益，因此反映了驱动技术初创企业大规模收购的逻辑。尽管未规定具体的触发数字，经济商誉测试代表着一项有用的创新，它可以将潜在的反竞争性初创企业纳入实质性的合并审查之中。从更广泛的意义上说，本文认为，初创企业的收购代表了金融资本主义时代竞争法在管理经济活动方面面临的困难。现代金融体系在当前与遥远的未来之间架起了一座牢固的桥梁。这使公司能够参与面向未来的竞争战略，从而挑战竞争法的静态方法。该论文认为，初创企业的收购代表了金融资本主义时代竞争法在管理经济活动方面面临的困难。现代金融体系在当前与遥远的未来之间架起了一座牢固的桥梁。这使公司能够参与面向未来的竞争战略，从而挑战竞争法的静态方法。该论文认为，初创企业的收购代表了金融资本主义时代竞争法在管理经济活动方面面临的困难。现代金融体系在当前与遥远的未来之间架起了一座牢固的桥梁。这使公司能够参与面向未来的竞争战略，从而挑战竞争法的静态方法。