Google's Chrome browser could be worth $20 billion on the public market if the Justice Department succeeds in persuading a federal judge to order the sale, according to a report.
In a filing Wednesday, the Justice Department will recommend that U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta order the sale of Chrome as part of a series of changes aimed at ending Google's monopoly power. Bloomberg reportedsaid a person familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh estimates that if Chrome were to go to market, the browser would have “at least 15 billion users, given its more than 3 billion monthly active users.” It is said to be worth ~$20 billion.
Federal regulators were widely expected to seek to break up Google's search business as part of the rescue plan. Mehta, who ruled in August that Google has an illegal monopoly over online search, will have sole discretion over what action to take.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that selling Chrome is seen as important in addressing Google's monopoly because many users access the core search engine through a browser. According to StatCounter data, Chrome controls 61% of web browser traffic.
Finding a buyer with the resources to buy Chrome and get the deal through regulators can be difficult. Singh told Bloomberg that while Microsoft-backed OpenAI is a logical candidate, Amazon is a possibility but is “very unlikely” given the inevitable antitrust scrutiny. spoke.
According to reports, the Department of Justice has chosen not to recommend forcing Google to sell its Android OS. Instead, it would ask Google to separate Android from its core search engine and other services, including the Google Play app store.
Federal regulators also give Google more freedom to require it to license data collected from its search engine to competitors and to prevent web publishers from using its data to power its artificial intelligence capabilities. It will recommend a number of other changes aimed at boosting competition, including increasing the
Under the Justice Department's proposal, the Fed could withdraw its call for a forced sale of Chrome if other remedies prove sufficiently effective without it, the report said.
Google declined to comment on Chrome's estimated price.
“The Department of Justice continues to advance a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” Lee Ann Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulation, said in a statement.
“If the government takes a strong stance in this way, it will harm consumers, developers, and America's technological leadership at precisely the moment when we need it most,” Mulholland added. Ta.
Mehta is expected to make a final decision on the Google Search bailout by next summer. Google has vowed to appeal the ruling, and CEO Sundar Pichai recently acknowledged that he expected the court battle to drag on for years.
President-elect Donald Trump's election victory means a new wild card. Trump, who has long been a critic of Google, has nevertheless recently said that he would break up the company because it would benefit not only China but also other Big Tech rivals like Meta. He suggested that he was reluctant to do so.
At the same time, President Trump nominated Big Tech critic Mike Gates to be attorney general.
Gaez's approval is far from certain amid allegations of sexual misconduct during his time in Congress, but former Republican lawmakers have expressed support for breaking up Google in the past.
