By It looks like the EU Commission will finally be able to decide on whether or not they think Google and Motorola should be allowed to wed. They’ve decided on a February 13th date to determine whether or not Google should be allowed to take ownership of the Illinois-based company. If you don’t remember, Google and Motorola submitted an acquisition bid worth $12.5 billion.
Any high profile acquisition isn’t without its hurdles, though. Google and Motorola had to get shareholders’ approvals, first and foremost. They still have to get the EU to decide on the proposal and US antitrust regulators will certainly step in to see if what they’re doing should be allowed to pass.
There isn’t much concern that Google and Motorola can’t get it done, however. It’s believed that Google has purchased Motorola for their mountain of patents and Google has stressed that Motorola will continue to work independently as they always have. February 13th will be an important milestone for both parties to look out for coverage on the EU’s decision when that time comes. [Reuters]
wait a minute. these are AMERICAN companies, jack! why in the hell does the EU have any say in this? the EU can’t even keep their own house in order as the Euro and virtually every country over there is going up in flames! F these EU bureaucrats!!!!!!!
I would assume that’s because they do business in Europe too?
Something tells me that if Samsung and Kia (Both South Korean companies) were to merge or one buy out the other, the EU would have no say in it.
They do actually. If they sell their products or have offices in the EU that is.
In the past Microsoft Windows was almost banned from legal sales because it came with Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. The competition law in Europe is very strict. They have that much say in business like this, which isn’t strange being the worlds largest economy and the third largest market.
A lot of foreign vehicles are also banned from mass imports due to strict emission standards. A few American, Chinese, Japanese, South-Korean, Russian and Indian vehicles amongst those that are banned.
EU Commission= European Commission
Might be obvious to some, but I had to Google it.
I still don’t know who the European Commission is or why they are even involved as this article doesn’t explain.
these are two American based companies, i don’t see the EU having any type of final say… we (the US) don’t get to decide if Samsung and HTC get to join (hypothetically) so why does EU get any say in what two American companies do.
yes we do business over there but that doesn’t mean they have any word in how we do our business back here.
I’m one of the poor to live there, but WHAT EU? It’s finished!
I’m all for this deal.
I approve this merger, as long as Google goes back on their promise and starts making Motorola unlock their bootloaders.
I don’t care if they do business in EU or not. These are American companies and as such only the US should have any say in their merger. America is the world’s largest market and if two European, Japanese, or other companies were to merge, US wouldn’t have the right to say ish either. :/ World monetary control sometimes boggles me. Countries have the right to their own holdings.
Umm read some history before commenting. The US has been having it’s say over European companies mergers since the Alcoa case in 1945!!! It’s the way business is done – if you do business in another market, employ people in another market, sell to citizens in another market, then you have to follow the rules of that other market.
Let hope Google’s ‘hands-off’ approach will be hands-on enough to get a Motorola Vanilla Android device out the door.
I can’t find the link now, but I read an article a while back that indicated that while the EU can’t actually stop the merger, their disapproval of it would be really bad for Googorola.
Under European Law, any companies that propose a merger and that transcend national borders, have a worldwide turnover of €5,000,000,000 and have a EU wide turnover of €250,000,000 have to submit their proposals to the European Competition Commission, which has the power to stop the merger if it is deemed anti-competitive. Both Google and Motorola fall into this category, and therefore the deal will go under scrutiny. Realistically, the deal will probably go ahead, but this is the what goes down if you want to do big business over here!
Stupid ass, socialist, over centralized government, retarded EUROPE. stick your nose in your own business.