This sums it up pretty well:
AOL Bid for Netscape Proves DoJ Allegations Against Microsoft Are Groundless, Trade
Group Says
PR Newswire - November 23, 1998 15:45
WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is the statement of Jonathan Zuck, Executive Director of the Association for Competitive Technology,
on the proposed $4 billion acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp. by America Online.
"The Justice Department has so far spent five weeks and untold millions of dollars to persuade a federal court that Microsoft's integration of Internet functionality
into its Windows operating system presents a grave and serious threat to Netscape.
"AOL's bid to acquire Netscape proves how wrong the government is. The company's $4 billion price tag highlights Netscape's incredible success in a dynamic
and highly competitive industry.
"The alliance is neither unusual or surprising. The technology industry is constantly changing as companies devise new products and new strategies to meet
consumer demand. Acquisitions and alliances among competitors are the norm, not the exception, as each company tries to position itself for a future in which
the only constant is constant change.
"What this deal shows is just how quickly today's Davids can become tomorrow's industry Goliaths -- and just how quickly today's giants can fall.
"The acquisition, along with the proposed alliance with Sun Microsystems, will combine the world's largest online service with the world's most popular Web
site and a highly successful business providing software for building and managing Web sites. This triumvirate will overnight create the biggest and most
powerful Internet enterprise ever seen -- one that will dominate the markets for Internet access, 'portal' sites, and e-commerce simultaneously.
"Netscape's billionaire executives lobbied for a helping hand from the feds, claiming that Microsoft would drive the company out of business. The Justice
Department bought it hook, line, and sinker.
"By courting a $4 billion suitor, Netscape has proven that the government's case is wrong. Unfortunately, taxpayers are still stuck with the tab."
SOURCE Association for Competetive Technology |
