Turn off the Ad Banner  

To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu.

    -----------------------------------------------
This story was printed from CdrInfo.com,
located at http://www.cdrinfo.com.
-----------------------------------------------

Appeared on: Tuesday, December 6, 2016
European Commission Approves Acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft, Subject to Conditions

The European Commission (EC) has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft.



The decision is conditional on compliance with a series of commitments aimed at preserving competition between professional social networks in Europe.

The EC said that Microsoft and LinkedIn are mainly active in complementary business areas, except for minor overlaps in online advertising. The Commission looked at whether, after the merger, Microsoft could use its strong market position in operating systems (Windows) for personal computers (PCs) and productivity software (including Outlook, Word, Excel and Power Point) to strengthen LinkedIn's position among professional social networks.

With respect to online advertising services, the companies' activities only overlap in relation to display advertising. However, given their very limited combined market share in the EEA, as well as the fragmented nature of the market, the Commission excluded any competition concerns arising from the combination of the parties' online non-search service activities.

To address the competition concerns identified by the Commission in the professional social network services market, Microsoft offered a series of commitments. These commitments include:

The commitments will apply in the EEA for a period of five years and will be monitored by a trustee.

These commitments address the competition concerns identified by the Commission. The Commission therefore concluded that the proposed transaction, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise competition concerns.



Home | News | All News | Reviews | Articles | Guides | Download | Expert Area | Forum | Site Info
Site best viewed at 1024x768+ - CDRINFO.COM 1998-2024 - All rights reserved -
Privacy policy - Contact Us .