Expect a 6 month freeze on Facebook’s Instagram acquisition

Well, sure. This FTC-imposed delay is standard operating procedure for almost every large tech company acquisition in the United States.<p>Some recent examples on the Google side:<p>AdMob - announced November 9th, 2009, FTC approval May 21st, 2010<p>ITA - announced July 1, 2010, FTC approval April 8th, 2011<p>AdMeld - announced June 13th, 2011, FTC approval December 2nd, 2011<p>(Each of those acquisitions were for less than Facebook's paying for Instagram, although the decision to investigate isn't just based on money.)<p>This is why large acquisitions usually include a breakup fee in case they don't go through.

<i>"He adds that the agencies also use the review process to get up to speed on fast-moving industries they may not fully understand."</i><p>Wonderful. Private business picks up the government's tab for training?

If the investigation happens that'll really suck for Instagram.<p>Any chance they'll get the same offer in 6 months? I doubt it.

Bored bureaucrats excited to work on hip cases. Instagram was a little startup getting bought by a big startup. If it wasn't for the high price tag no one would have given this deal a second thought. The press made a big deal of it so the bureaucrats will too.

How long did Facebook expect to grow unfettered before their acquisitions started requiring scrutiny by regulators?<p>Edit: When Mark Zuckerberg found himself throwing down a billion dollars to have what a company he wanted, did he ever once seriously consider that he couldn't have it as soon as he wanted?

wow Google and Twitter... that's just dirty...

it's sad to realize that once blossoming companies fueled with innovation and hope, like Google and Twitter, have resorted to promoting anti-trust litigation because they feared their product couldn't stand on its own merit

This will not amount to anything (negative) as instagram isn't worth anything near what Facebook is paying for them. Zuck is taking a gamble by getting a social network on the rise, but is still completely unproven. The last thing he wants to do is pull a Murdoch and buy a platform the rest of the world already knew was dead, so he's goes to the complete opposite extreme (which I believe is a complete overreaction on Zuck's part).<p>This is similar to projecting an athlete's career... Zuck is gambling quite a bit that instagram is a real stud, but there is always the reality that insta could be a dud long term. Regulators are going to be more concerned with deals that could disrupt current markets. What market has instagram created or dominated? (I don't consider sharing pictures a market)<p>If Zuck has the Clairvoyance to see something here that will generate a strong return on $1,000,000,000 despite the enormous risk, then I see no reason to not let this deal go through.