THE SIGNAL: Google-ITA Opponents Should Put Up Or Shut Up Dow Jones Investment Banker | 10 November 2010 10:43| By Peter Gallagher NEW YORK (Dow Jones Investment Banker)--Google Inc.'s proposed purchase of ITA Software Inc. has drawn the ire of some online travel companies, which argue that Google could gain a lock on the online travel market if it were to own ITA's search technology.
Rather than crying to antitrust regulators, Sabre Holdings Corp., Expedia Inc. and Kayak Software Corp. should put their money where their mouths are, band together and top Google's $700 million deal. That would not only fend off the threat from Google. If the complainants are right about the power of ITA's software, the company is worth more than that and their investment would be rewarded.
[...]
It's not hard to see why the incumbent players fear a deal that would give Google an even more prominent role on their turf. Google is already the starting point for many consumers making travel plans, by serving up hotel listings with maps, links to airline listings and ads. Google denies any interest in actually selling seats or hotel rooms, or processing transactions. But with ITA it might produce a better search mechanism for consumers, allowing it to dominate the entry point and siphon off ad revenue.
But a competitive threat is not the same thing as an antitrust violation.
Forbes: "Correcting Herb Kohl (And Kayak And Bing Travel …) On Google/ITA"
"For several reasons, these complaints are without merit and a challenge to the Google/ITA merger would be premature at best—and a costly mistake at worst. ...
Punchy pro-merger article by Reuters:
ReplyDeleteTHE SIGNAL: Google-ITA Opponents Should Put Up Or Shut Up
Dow Jones Investment Banker | 10 November 2010 10:43| By Peter Gallagher
NEW YORK (Dow Jones Investment Banker)--Google Inc.'s proposed purchase of ITA Software Inc. has drawn the ire of some online travel companies, which argue that Google could gain a lock on the online travel market if it were to own ITA's search technology.
Rather than crying to antitrust regulators, Sabre Holdings Corp., Expedia Inc. and Kayak Software Corp. should put their money where their mouths are, band together and top Google's $700 million deal. That would not only fend off the threat from Google. If the complainants are right about the power of ITA's software, the company is worth more than that and their investment would be rewarded.
[...]
It's not hard to see why the incumbent players fear a deal that would give Google an even more prominent role on their turf. Google is already the starting point for many consumers making travel plans, by serving up hotel listings with maps, links to airline listings and ads. Google denies any interest in actually selling seats or hotel rooms, or processing transactions. But with ITA it might produce a better search mechanism for consumers, allowing it to dominate the entry point and siphon off ad revenue.
But a competitive threat is not the same thing as an antitrust violation.
[...]
Forbes: "Correcting Herb Kohl (And Kayak And Bing Travel …) On Google/ITA"
ReplyDelete"For several reasons, these complaints are without merit and a challenge to the Google/ITA merger would be premature at best—and a costly mistake at worst.
...
http://blogs.forbes.com/beltway/2010/12/03/correcting-herb-kohl-and-kayak-and-bing-travel-on-googleita/