FTC Releases Report on Unreported Acquisitions by Major US Tech Companies

The Federal Trade Commission made public the findings from its inquiry into past acquisitions by the largest technology platforms’ that did not require reporting to antitrust authorities at the FTC and the Department of Justice. The inquiry analyzed the terms, scope, structure, and purpose of these exempted transactions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act and the FTC's reporting requirements by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019. These companies comprise the top five US companies by market capitalization. “While the Commission’s enforcement actions have already focused on how digital platforms can buy their way out of competing, this study highlights the systemic nature of their acquisition strategies,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan. “It captures the extent to which these firms have devoted tremendous resources to acquiring start-ups, patent portfolios, and entire teams of technologists—and how they were able to do so largely outside of our purview.” The technology platform inquiry focused on 616 transactions valued at or above $1 million.