MENLO PARK, Calif. (CNN/Money) -
For Microsoft, the ankle-biting never stops. If you're a shareholder and this concerns you, get used to it.
Such challenges are as much a part of Microsoft's costs of doing business as environmental concerns are for General Motors.
One could argue that an ongoing investigation by the European Union, which is holding three days of hearings in Brussels on its antitrust case against Microsoft, is actually pretty important.
In the grand scheme of things, though, it's just like all the other ankle-biting -- everyone wants a piece of one of the biggest companies in the world.
| Recently by Adam Lashinsky
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To back up, casual observers might have thought the coast was clear for Microsoft when the Bush administration's Justice Department settled the government's long-running antitrust case.
Yes, Microsoft was a monopoly. No, it wouldn't be forced to break itself up.
Yes, it would be required to adhere to certain restrictions because of its monopoly status. No, it wouldn't be prevented from pursuing new and tangential product lines.
But the price of being a monopoly continues. Consider:
The EU case not only reminds Microsoft that Europeans are interested in seeing this through to the end, it also is a sign that Brussels keeps watching after the cameras go away. The EU contends that Microsoft has continued to behave unfairly in violation of its own settlement with the U.S. government. The Europeans aren't very good at foreign policy. But they do seem to have a knack for operating as a cohesive commercial and legal market. In a worst-case scenario Microsoft could be on the line for several billions of dollars in fines.
Sun Microsystems continues to battle Microsoft in a private antitrust suit in the United States. Sun argues that Microsoft's monopolist position has harmed it and Sun is seeking in excess of $1 billion in redress. Microsoft has shown itself willing in numerous instances to settle these cases, such as recent agreements with defunct Be Inc. and another involving America Online, a division of Time Warner, which also owns this Web site. With $51 billion in cash, and all that trial testimony from which to cull, Microsoft always will provide an ample target.
Already the media and the plaintiff bar is wondering how Google will handle Microsoft's professed interest in integrating search technology into its Windows operating system. For example, might Google go ahead and proactively sue Microsoft, arguing that it's plain as day that Microsoft is attempting to "Netscape" it? This is mere speculation, but relevant all the same. In everything Microsoft does nowadays it needs to be thinking of how a competitor might use the legal system to counter it.
Now, should all this be a concern? The market answers the question well.
On the day the EU hearing opened Microsoft's stock merely lollygagged around, down a few pennies, then up nicely with the rest of the Nasdaq.
This is the way it's going to be. Ankle biting is annoying. And it may affect where one walks, not a trivial matter. As for sinking the aircraft carrier, fuhgetaboutit.
Its and bits: Conflict at Silver Lake?
Information Week published a neat piece pointing out a potential conflict of interest at Silver Lake Partners, the big tech-oriented buyout group.
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The problem is its stake in tech researcher Gartner (IT: Research, Estimates). After all, many of the investors in Silver Lake's funds are the CEOs of companies that Gartner follows.
Two thoughts.
First, the conflict has been around for years now, even though Silver Lake's equity ownership recently grew due to its converting debt into stock.
Second, conflicts are business-as-usual at Gartner. It's regularly passing judgments on the very companies that buy its research and has withstood the pressure until now, keeping its reputation intact.
But this is food for thought. Read the piece here.
Adam Lashinsky is a senior writer for Fortune magazine. Send e-mail to Adam at lashinskysbottomline@yahoo.com.
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