Re: Microsoft to announce buyout of Informix

On 6 May 1997 21:33:59 GMT, "Stephen Barrett" <smb_at_mindspring.com> wrote:

>Why wouldn't the SEC allow it? The reason the Intuit deal was blocked was
>because the only 2 real competitors in that market is Intuit's Quicken and
>Microsoft Money. Microsoft would have had a monopoly. Why wouldn'y
>Microsoft be able to buy Informix? Microsft and Informix products don't
>compete directly. MS Sql Server doesn'y compete at the same level as
>Informix. If Microsoft bought Informix, then it would be the big 3, i.e.
>Oracle, Sybase, and Microsoft. This would only increase competition which
>would benefit everyone.

I think it was the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and not the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that blocked the deal. Microsoft would have had the largest market share (there are smaller competitors, and barriers to entry aren't that great), but it wouldn't have been a total monopoly.

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