Diamonds and Dogs

6/3/19

A merger in the chip space. Cypress Semi (CY) is jumping 25% after agreeing to be acquired by German chipmaker, Infineon Tech for $8.7 billion in cash. The combined entity would become a top 10 chip-maker, globally. The merger will give Infineon access to a memory chip maker re-positioning itself as a provider to automobiles and other connected devices. The semiconductor industry has been reshaped over the past five years as companies combine to gain scale while fighting rising costs and shrinking customer bases.

Google/Alphabet (GOOG) looking more like Microsoft from 20 years ago. Alphabet is down 5% this morning on multiple media reports that the U.S. Department of Justice is preparing a far-reaching probe into the tech giant's sprawling business. The US government did break up Standard Oil and AT&T, back in the day, but failed to break up Microsoft 20 years ago. Last year, Google was fined a record $5 billion by European antitrust authorities following a lengthy investigation into contracts that tie makers of android-operated smartphones to the exclusive sale of its apps. Google was hit with a further fine of $1.7 billion penalty in March for unfairly restricting rivals from displaying ads.