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Chapter 309 Antitrust Investigation Begins

On January 22, 1998, the juicy gossip in the American tech world was fully ripe.

Following a joint appeal by Google and other tech companies, Microsoft was bombarded with criticism.

Following this, the U.S. Department of Justice responded swiftly under public pressure, immediately announcing an antitrust investigation into Microsoft.

This whole operation nearly made tech enthusiasts drop their hands, with many commenting, "The Department of Justice isn't usually this proactive when it's just slacking off; when it comes to corporate giants, their reaction is faster than netizens snapping up limited-edition items."

That very day, an antitrust investigation task force was quickly assembled and plunged into Microsoft headquarters to work day and night.

The way they flipped through the files was more meticulous than a thief searching through drawers for bankbooks. Their thoroughness in checking emails extended to even casual chat emails sent by employees three years ago—a truly exhaustive search.

While the Department of Justice's investigation was in full swing, the media, as if injected with adrenaline, launched a frenzied reporting campaign.

Reporters from major newspapers practically lived right outside Microsoft's headquarters, with daily headlines featuring either the latest developments in the Microsoft antitrust investigation or evidence of monopolies that Microsoft might have hidden over the years.

On television news, experts passionately analyzed Microsoft's sins and punishments.

On social media, netizens were outraged and launched a barrage of criticism against Microsoft.

Microsoft was thrust into the eye of the storm, more glaring than the summer sun, making it difficult to keep a low profile.

As the other protagonist in this tech drama, Google isn't faring much better. Every day, just like Microsoft's headquarters, Google's headquarters is surrounded by reporters carrying cameras and recording pens, resembling two groups of fans camping out to see their idols.

This head-on collision between the giants quickly impacted the stock market, with Google-related stocks bearing the brunt, their share prices falling across the board, leaving investors on the edge of their seats.

One investor lamented, "Just a few days ago I was hoping to make some pocket money with Google concept stocks, but now I've not only failed to make any pocket money, but I've also almost lost all my principal. I bought at the peak."

Microsoft's stock price isn't doing much better either, fluctuating wildly with volatility so high that investors with heart conditions might end up in the hospital.

Investors were thrown into a panic. Those who were originally full of confidence in tech stocks are now starting to wonder if they can still touch them.

Some Wall Street investment gurus have even publicly stated that "the current tech stock market is more unpredictable than haggling at a vegetable market; nobody knows what will happen next."

Experienced people know that Wall Street is waiting for an opportunity to short sell, but the retail investors are too impatient and they're actually forced to sell at a loss.

Judging from the market's reaction, Microsoft's bundled sales are widely regarded as a case of killing one's enemy while losing eight hundred of one's own, a classic example of shooting oneself in the foot. Originally, it wanted to trick Google, but ended up hurting itself even more.

Microsoft is suffering a more severe backlash than Google. After all, Google's valuation has only dropped slightly and its future is somewhat uncertain, while Microsoft not only has to face an investigation by the Department of Justice, but also has to deal with public questioning. It is truly besieged on all sides.

Once the label of "monopoly" is attached to a person, it's not something that can be easily removed, especially when it's backed by both public opinion and the law.

Just as everyone was focused on the Microsoft antitrust case and speculating how this tech war would end, Google suddenly dropped a bombshell, announcing that it would acquire a technology company called Eolas for $3.9 million.

The news caused an uproar in the tech and media circles, even more shocking than the previous investigation into Microsoft.

When most people hear the name Eolas Technologies, they look blank, wondering, "What does this company do? I've never heard of it before?"

Google actually spent nearly $4 million on an unknown company. Did that money just fall from the sky?

The media couldn't let such bizarre news pass by. Just an hour after Google announced the acquisition, major media outlets formed an Eolas investigation team, determined to dig up the company's secrets.

But as they investigated further, everyone was even more surprised to find that this company was actually a patent enterprise primarily engaged in agriculture.

The company was founded in 1994 and was "spun off" from the University of California, San Francisco. Its initial purpose was to commercialize some of the school's patents.

Aside from the school's patents, its main research areas are surprisingly agricultural genes and space genes.

As soon as the results were announced, media outlets began to criticize, "Is Google planning to switch to farming? Spending $4 million to acquire a company specializing in agricultural genetics is more outrageous than science fiction."

Some news outlets even openly mocked and ridiculed, saying, "Maybe Google wants to research crops that can grow computers," so that everyone can just go to the field and pick computers to use, thus eliminating the need for computer manufacturers and Microsoft.

Faced with probing questions from the media and the public, Google adopted a cool and aloof attitude, refusing to explain its intentions regarding the acquisition no matter how much the reporters pressed, at most simply stating "no comment" and then falling silent.

Not only were the media baffled, but even the employees of Eolas Technologies, the company that was acquired, were stunned, as if they had been hit by a pie falling from the sky.

How did I suddenly become a Google employee while working?

Before, when people asked me where I worked, I would say Eolas and nobody knew that. Now, if I say I work at Google, people will definitely look at me with more respect, right?

I never imagined that after so many years of obscurity, I would end up being the one who was recruited by the company.

Some even cornered the president of Monsanto, pressing him for his opinion on Google's entry into the agricultural genetics field.

The president of Monsanto bluntly stated on the spot, "I don't think this is the right decision for Google. Google is a high-profile technology company. As a technology company, it should focus on its core business and not meddle in the agricultural sector."

"We at Monsanto have been deeply involved in the field of agricultural genetics for so many years. We are not afraid of any challengers and have never regarded Google as a threat. After all, it may not even understand the basic common sense of farming."

These remarks sparked another round of heated discussion. Some people thought Monsanto was too arrogant, while others thought Monsanto made sense and that Google should not be neglecting its core business.

On Wall Street, Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson looked at the newspaper interview about Monsanto, his face practically radiating sarcasm.

He complained to his assistant, "Has the New York Times run out of people to write news? They've started reporting on these sensational topics. Google entering the field of agricultural genetics? It's ridiculous that some media outlets are actually taking this kind of nonsense seriously."

He put down his newspaper and shook his head. "Does he think the anti-monopoly drama isn't exciting enough and wants to add some comedic elements?"

Despite his complaints, Henry Paulson was not just someone who watched the spectacle.

Based on his understanding of Ernst, Google would never spend nearly $4 million to acquire a company that mainly deals in gene patents without a reason; there must be something big going on.

He looked up at his secretary. "How's the investigation into Eolas Technologies going? Have you found any leads?"

The secretary shook her head helplessly and replied with a bitter face, "We have searched through all the information that Eolas Technology has ever publicly released, from business registration information to patent application records, and even the information from industry exhibitions it participated in a few years ago, but we still can't find a single clue. We simply can't figure out why Google would spend so much money to acquire it."

"Eolas Technologies is a private company, and many of its core documents are not publicly disclosed, so we have no way of obtaining them. Moreover, after Google acquired it, it immediately implemented a strict gag order, prohibiting Eolas employees from disclosing any internal company information to the outside world."

"We didn't get any information from within Google. All we know is that this acquisition was personally overseen by Google's CEO, Hamilton, and the entire process was kept extremely secret. Apart from Hamilton and a few core executives, other Google executives didn't know the specifics."

At this point, the secretary thought there was some news that Henry Paulson would definitely be interested in: "However, we also made an unexpected discovery within Google. The afternoon before Google contacted Eolas Technologies, Ernst, Hamilton, Jason Arlington, and Wenger's team held a closed-door meeting that lasted for more than three hours. We don't know if this meeting was related to the acquisition of Eolas."

Does it matter?

Henry Paulson stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Based on his understanding of Ernst, there must be a connection.

But what does an agricultural genetics company have to do with the current predicament Google is facing? He really had no reason to convince himself.

But one thing he was certain of was that Eolas Technologies definitely held patents that were very important to Google, and they were definitely not some nonsense related to agricultural genes.

At the same time, in his office at Microsoft headquarters, Bill Gates was also looking at the newspaper with a serious expression.

The newspaper headline, "Google Acquires Eolas Technologies for $3.9 Million," stung him like a thorn.

Bill Gates grew increasingly puzzled, muttering to himself, "What is Google up to?"

At this critical juncture, shouldn't Google's core focus be on breaking the deadlock surrounding Microsoft's MSN bundling issue? Why is it suddenly acquiring an agricultural gene company?

Even if Eolas has some valuable technology, they should wait until this antitrust controversy is over before making an acquisition. There's no need to rush.

At $3.9 million, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that this price is an exorbitant premium; Eolas Technologies is simply not worth that much.

There's a possibility that Eolas's owner didn't want to sell the company, and Google offered such a high price to persuade him.

Google's acquisition desire was too urgent; it simply didn't have time to negotiate with Eolas slowly and could only rely on raising the price to quickly reach a deal.

Bill Gates expressed his somewhat hunched suspicion: "Google's eagerness to acquire Eolas Technologies is likely related to Google's efforts to break the predicament that Microsoft has created for them."

Malcolm nodded in agreement. "That's what I thought too. But the problem is that Eolas is a patent company mainly focused on agricultural genetics. None of us had paid much attention to it before, and we knew nothing about its patented technologies. We had no way of finding out the real purpose of Google's acquisition."

"Not to mention us, not many people in the whole of America pay attention to patent companies in the agricultural sector."

Americans focus their attention on high-end fields like healthcare, finance, and technology; who would bother with agriculture?

Bill Gates sighed, leaned back in his chair, and said wearily, "There's no use thinking about it now. We can only deal with whatever comes our way."

My most important task right now is not figuring out Google's intentions, but preparing for the upcoming court appearance.

According to his information, the U.S. Department of Justice and twenty states have reached an agreement to jointly sue Microsoft, listing four major charges: monopolistic operating systems, bundled sales, exclusive contracts, and technology blockade.

At this point, a lawyer's letter might have already been sent out, so Bill Gates simply doesn't have time to think about anything else; he's working with his legal department to develop strategies for dealing with the antitrust investigation.

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