Google announced the creation of a new holding company Alphabet, which as an independent company will enter the search engine itself. The event provoked a heated discussion among representatives of the industry and has spawned many versions about the true cause of restructuring.
Experts, journalists and competitors are primarily expressed their utter surprise at the creation of Alphabet. The spectrum of tweets and posts on social networks included as the congratulations and expressions of approval, and the suspicion of trying to circumvent antitrust laws and the prosecution of tax evasion. The network even appeared parody site abc.xyz manifesto Alphabet as addresses abc.wtf, registered in New Zealand and are located on owned Microsoft IP-address.
Home version, confirm the published CEO of Google , Larry Page of information in the company's official blog, it is that the Alphabet will make Google more understandable for investors and improve the management of major assets such as itself a search engine, YouTube, maps, Android and Play Store, Browser Chrome, and advertising systems. And such individual factors as failure to start glasses Glass, will not spoil the overall performance of the advertising revenue Google's regular report to investors.
"Our company is working well, but we think we can make it more comprehensible and transparent," - wrote in circulation Larry Page, a foothold in the Alphabet letter «G» of Google.
To achieve this, the head of Google becoming Product Director Sundar Pichai, who has established himself as a talented managers and has shown recent impressive results in its area of responsibility. The team Alphabet Page and Brin will be reinforced by the CFO Ruth Porat, who came to Google from Morgan Stanley, which has a great influence on Wall Street.
The market has already reacted to this decision more positive - Google shares immediately rose by 5%.
They, Larry Page and Sergey Brin in the Alphabet will be engaged in the development of venture capital activities, such as Internet connection through stratospheric balloons Calico, delivery drones Wing, augmented reality glasses Glass and other development laboratory Google X. In their zone of responsibility also remains acquired last year for a $ 3 billion company Nest, developing devices for the Internet of things.
"Presumably, the purpose of Google - an attempt to convey to investors that the company hears their requests for greater transparency and is ready to provide it, - said Brian Weiser, an analyst at Pivotal Research. - But that does not mean that they cease to invest in areas derived from the core business. "
Alphabet will be largely similar to the company Berkshire Hathaway famous American billionaire investor Warren Buffett, that the long-term prospect of investing in different areas of business.
Style and principles of life Sergey Brin, who oversees Google X, Larry Page and better fit into this concept, as they are strongly associated with the invention and of innovative activities.
However, there is another version of this separation in a single structure. Business Google is not eternal, and although the company has a monopoly on the Internet search market, the market of mobile technology is not all that obvious. In particular, social networks and instant messaging applications on smartphones could potentially take away a significant part of the revenues from Google's advertising market.
Under the new structure of each asset is an independent company, which is independent from other assets Alphabet and in the future can be independently traded on the stock exchange. Thus, the growth of one or more new destinations will not deter others.
"The change of corporate structure should appeal to investors: the pilot projects it is now a separate business with its own performance, prospects and opportunities to attract investors' funds".
"The management of these companies, and the very Larry Page will have greater freedom of action. Each area will be evaluated separately, then set how Google is the most profitable, but also the standard of the new assets of the holding. Investors have repeatedly faulted the enormous cost Google in the research of new products without any clearly visible the prospects for payback, now cross-financing of the holding companies to be more transparent.
Finally, Google is explicitly makes it clear that the Internet - is only part of their business, and perhaps in the future, is not the most important, he said.
Not meaningless and the version that the holding structure Alphabet help in solving problems with antitrust lawsuits in Europe and in the near future, possibly in the United States, and will optimize the taxation of the company.
Claims the priority of the EU authorities of Google services in search results is certainly not withdraw, but to present such claims to future products Alphabet will be more difficult, since they will all operate under separate independent companies.
Legal persons, who are now investing in Google, as will invest Alphabet, and may be registered in the countries with the best conditions for taxes, and the management will be carried out from the United States, and to make a complaint to the tax evasion would be much more difficult.
