Consumer Confidential: Firms Should Stop Pretending That High-Profile Mergers Will Benefit Consumers
The script has become a familiar one for consumers. First a company announces that it’s acquiring a rival firm. Both businesses declare this will be great for customers. Federal regulators, in most cases, then say that they’ve looked closely at the deal and don’t see any problem. The buyout goes through and — what do you know? — prices eventually go up and the quality of the product or service shows no improvement. It makes you...
Consolidation Brings Change To Chip Industry
San Jose, Calif. — A wave of mergers and acquisitions is reshaping Silicon Valley’s semiconductor industry as companies join forces to shoulder the soaring technology costs required to stay competitive. Half a dozen chipmakers in Silicon Valley, including a few storied names, have changed hands in less than two years in nearly $12 billion in mergers and acquisitions affecting thousands of employees and costing some their jobs. In one...
