Home
>Japan Fair Trade Commission
>CPRC Home
>Report/Paper
>
A note on conglomerate mergers: The Google/Fitbit case (2023.1)
A note on conglomerate mergers: The Google/Fitbit case (2023.1)
A note on conglomerate mergers: The Google/Fitbit case (2023.1)
NAKAGAWA, Akihiko (Professor, Graduate School of Law, Hokkaido University and Visiting Researcher of the Competition Policy Research Center)
MATSUSHIMA, Noriaki (Professor, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University and Director of the Competition Policy Research Center)
| Abstract | File(PDF) |
|---|---|
| We consider conglomerate mergers using the Google/Fitbit case as an example. First, summarizing the importance of conglomerate merger control and the current enforcement standards for such mergers by competition laws, we briefly describe a review of the Google/Fitbit merger by the Japan Fair Trade Commission. Next, we explain the background of the merger and introduce Chen et al. (2022), who theoretically discuss a cross-market merger by considering the Google/Fitbit merger. Finally, we discuss the implications of Chen et al. (2022) for controlling conglomerate mergers. Specifically, personalized pricing based on data analytics can be a foreclosure device; in particular, merger-specific efficiencies can foster market foreclosure. |
CPDP-89-4-E(PDF:496KB) |
