One way to eliminate the competition in business is simply to buy them out and shut them down.
And last year, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alsochanged its criteria for scrutinizingcertain deal types.
These recent rulings will empower them to examine almost any purchase.
So calling it wrong could actually stifle innovation and stop new products from reaching the market.
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There isresearchto support this view.
Similarly,EU regulatorswant to be able to investigate and potentially prevent any acquisitions they believe may hurt consumers.
Grails product is not yet operational and acquiring it does not affect the dominant market position of Illumina.
Almost immediately, however, regulatorsin the USand theEUchallenged the merger.
Both announced plans to scrutinize its potential impact on competition and innovation in the market for genome-based diagnosis.
In this kind of situation, regulators are often concerned about market concentration.
In digital markets, dominant firms are also often suspected of pursuing a similar strategy.
Instead, it added some of Wazes innovative features into Google Maps andkept the former as a niche product.
This allowed Google to stay dominant andto boost its profitsfrom user data.
The FTC did not oppose the acquisitionin 2013but is nowreportedly considering looking at itagain.
Regulators big gamble
If regulators routinely block such acquisitions, start-ups will need to operate differently.
But they benefited from being acquired by a larger platform.
Neither were killer acquisitions, but both increased market concentration.
By opening acquisitions of small and innovative firms to more scrutiny, regulators are taking a massive bet.
To block an acquisition, they must demonstrate that it actually hurts innovation, often in very technical fields.
