For Microsoft, CRA economists advised on the $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in Europe and the US. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cleared the transaction and the EC cleared the deal subject to conditions to address potential concerns in “professional social networking” (PSN). Our analysis considered the parties’ ability and incentive to foreclose third-party suppliers of CRM solutions by restricting the availability of LinkedIn’s (sales intelligence) products, or tying/bundling them with Microsoft’s productivity assets.
How New Merger Filing Rules Will Affect Economic Advocacy
These rules necessitate a closer alignment between the parties’ filings and their economic advocacy efforts. The information required under the new rules...