Court Exhibit·28 FEB 2012
"It is better to buy than compete." The 60-Word Email That Cost Meta Billions in Discovery
Eight years later, this paragraph would be sitting in front of a House subcommittee, a federal judge, and the Federal Trade Commission.
Email exhibit as reproduced in the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust Final Report, October 2020, page 138.
Excerpt · In Mark Zuckerberg's own words
One thing about startups though is you can often acquire them. I think this is a good outcome for everyone. The businesses are nascent but the networks are established, the brands are already meaningful, and if they grow to a large scale they could be very disruptive to us. Given that we think our own valuations are quite high right now, it's probably more reasonable to find ways to buy these companies than to compete with them.
It is better to buy than compete.
Members · Archive
This edition is for members.
The daily letter is free. The archive — every prior edition, fully searchable — is for members. Sign in to start your free week.
$3/month · $30/year · cancel anytime
How this surfaced
- Source type
- Court Exhibit
- Case / record
- House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust — Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets
- Citation
- Final Report, October 2020, p. 138 — Email produced by Facebook in response to subcommittee request
- Date authored
- February 28, 2012
- License
- Public domain
- Original
- View the primary source →
More from Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg & Elon Musk ·Meta, Tesla/X ·13 DEC 2024
Zuckerberg Tells Musk Meta Backed His OpenAI Lawsuit
A brief December 2024 exchange reveals that Meta quietly aligned itself with Musk's legal challenge to OpenAI's nonprofit conversion, and that Zuckerberg moved immediately to manage the relationship directly.
Mark Zuckerberg ·Meta Platforms, Inc. ·11 FEB 2012
When Your Original Thesis Is Wrong, Pay To Fix It Fast
If a small competitor has already won the use case your future depends on, the cheapest option is usually to buy them — before the market figures out how valuable they are.
Mark Zuckerberg ·Meta Platforms, Inc. ·11 FEB 2012
When Your Original Thesis Is Wrong, Pay To Fix It Fast
If a small competitor has already won the use case your future depends on, the cheapest option is usually to buy them — before the market figures out how valuable they are.
David Drummond ·Google ·23 MAR 2007
When a Rival Bids, Your Build Plan Becomes a Buy Decision
A build-it-yourself plan is only valid until a competitor's checkbook makes the timeline irrelevant.
Neal Mohan ·Google LLC ·23 MAR 2009
Don't Bleed an Acquisition to Death by a Thousand Cuts
An acquired business is worth more than its P&L — cut it like a standalone and you destroy the very reason you bought it.