The possible effects of the Harris-Trump election on significant tech transactions could be considerable.
The potential implications of the Harris-Trump election on major tech dealings might be substantial. The ramifications of the Harris-Trump election on significant tech exchanges could be substantial.
Under the Biden administration, and particularly Federal Trade Commission chief Lina Khan, the largest companies have been obstructed from pursuing substantial transactions. Amazon abandoned its $1.7 billion purchase of iRobot in January after the FTC and European regulators expressed concerns.
At Cisco, one of the initial questions executives assess when reviewing a possible deal is how certain they are it will close, said Derek Idemoto, the head of corporate development at the networking hardware company.
There are still transactions taking place, outside the watchful eye of regulators. Hewlett Packard Enterprise agreed in January to purchase networking hardware company Juniper for $14 billion. And this month, Salesforce declared it was acquiring startup Own for $1.9 billion.
‘Very, very disciplined’
Jonathan Kanter, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, stated after Adobe backed down that the move “ensures that designers, creators, and consumers continue to get the benefit of the rivalry between the two companies going forward.”
It might be hard for the megacap companies to have that level of confidence as long as the FTC and DOJ are intently watching them. Alphabet’s previous major deal was its $5.4 billion purchase of cybersecurity company Mandiant in 2022.
Hard to be confident
On the Democratic side, billionaire donors Barry Diller and Reid Hoffman have voiced concerns about Khan retaining her position if Vice President Kamala Harris wins.
Alphabet is in the middle of its second antitrust trial, following allegations from the Justice Department. The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Apple on antitrust grounds in March.
It may be challenging for any tech company contemplating its acquisition strategy to forecast the future because it’s uncertain what changes Vice President Harris might make if she wins in November or what Trump would do if he returns to the White House.
