According to a Reuters report, Alphabet—Google's parent company—is currently attempting to purchase HubSpot, an online marketing software company valued at $35 billion (about 32.292 billion euros).

If Alphabet decides to proceed with the bid, it would mark a rare occurrence of a major technology firm attempting a mega-deal amid the regulatory scrutiny facing the sector, especially under the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden. 

The potential acquisition would be the largest in Alphabet's history. It would allow it to tap into some of its cash reserves, which reached $110.9 billion (about €102.324 billion) at the end of December.

According to information published by the news agency, Alphabet has held talks with Morgan Stanley investment bankers in recent days about the feasibility and implications of a bid for HubSpot. In particular, financial details have been discussed, and the possibility of antitrust authorities approving such a transaction has been evaluated.

At the moment, Alphabet still needs to submit a formal bid for HubSpot and, according to sources close to the matter, there is no certainty that it will do so. "As standard practice, HubSpot does not comment on rumors or speculation. Our focus remains on building a strong business and meeting the needs of our customers," a HubSpot spokesperson stressed. Alphabet and Morgan Stanley have yet to respond to requests for comment.

HubSpot shares rallied 11%

HubSpot shares rallied by 11% to $693 (€639.4) on Thursday due to the potential buyout, while Alphabet shares saw a slight 1% decline, closing at $153.34 (about €142).

HubSpot, publicly traded since 2014, offers marketing software to companies, generally with up to 2,000 employees. Despite posting a loss of $176.3 million (about €163 million) in 2023, the company generated revenues of $2 billion (€1,845.4 million), which has generated excitement among investors and boosted its share price by 50% in the past 12 months.

Regardless of this operation result, Google is currently facing several antitrust actions, including a landmark lawsuit accusing it of abusing its position as an online search leader. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai is looking for avenues to boost growth after the company revealed last January that fourth-quarter ad sales came in below expectations.

According to Dealogic data, the technology sector was a leading player in M&A during the first quarter of the year, with growth of more than 42% year-on-year to $154 billion (about €142,056.5 million).

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Alphabet will cut around 12,000 jobs worldwide. Google’s parent company will lay off close to 6% of the workforce to address weakening economic conditions, the group's CEO Sundar Pichai said Friday in a message to employees. 

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It is the most significant layoff in its history and brings the number of jobs cuts announced by the big tech companies to 51,000. The biggest amounts of layoffs in the industry ever. 

The cuts will affect roles across product areas and regions, CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to employees posted on the company’s website Friday.

"We have decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 positions," Pichai said in a message made public in the early hours of Friday morning at Google's headquarters in Mountain View (California), after midday in mainland Spain. Pichai said that the company has already contacted by email with affected employees in the United States, while in other countries, "this process will take longer due to local laws and practices".

Affected US employees will remain on the company’s payroll for 60 days and receive at least 16 weeks' salary in severance, in addition to other benefits.

Alphabet grew its workforce by more than 50,000 over the past two years as booming demand for its services during the pandemic boosted profits. But in recent quarters, the company’s core digital ad business has slowed as the economic downturn, and recession fears caused advertisers to pull back their spending.

Not only Alphabet is laying off 

Microsoft announced this week that it was cutting about 10,000 jobs, and earlier this year, Amazon raised its layoff figure to about 18,000 workers. Last year, Meta announced 11,000 job cuts. Of the Big Five, only Apple has escaped massive job cuts, although it has slowed hiring and laid off some employees.

In addition to the so-called Big Tech, many other technology companies, including Salesforce, Twitter, and Netflix, have also undertaken layoffs. According to the website Layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs in the tech sector, some 39,000 have already been announced in the first 20 days of this year, adding to the 155,000 in 2022. That, even though the U.S. economy has the lowest unemployment figure in the last 50 years, at 3.5%.

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