Business briefing
Google offers ad auction to appease EU
Google has proposed a remedy for its search results that European regulators have said favor its own shopping listings: holding an auction for those advertiser-paid spots.
But critics say the proposal still favors the deep-pocketed tech giant, and Europe’s top antitrust regulator is taking a wait-and-see attitude.
Google said Thursday it will still present users with photos and prices when they search for products online and offer a link directly to where they can be purchased. It said in a blog post it will actively bid for those spots against other comparison shopping services and treat its Google Shopping unit as a separate company that needs to turn a profit.
The company is appealing a $2.9 billion fine imposed by European regulators for favoring shopping listings it gets paid for, but it had to provide a way to give equal treatment to competitors by Thursday or risk further fines.
A spokesperson for European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told CNBC it was “premature” for the commission to take a definitive view of the proposed remedy and put the onus on Google to obey the equal-treatment mandate imposed in June.
Ikea buys on-demand services firm
Ikea is making moves so you don’t have to assemble a sofa or bookcase yourself.
The furniture seller said Thursday that it is buying online on-demand services platform TaskRabbit, which lets users hire people to help them move, clean up the house or assemble furniture. Much of Ikea’s furniture requires customers to screw together table legs, bedframes and dining room chairs.
Ikea said it tested TaskRabbit in its stores in London last year and plans to roll out the service in U.S. stores and more U.K. locations.
More countries may be added later. Before the TaskRabbit deal, certain Ikea stores already provided some independent workers to assemble goods.
Roku stock offering raises $219M
Shares of Roku, an early player in streaming-video gadgets, soared Thursday after its initial public offering of stock raised $219 million.
The shares priced at $14 each, the top of the company’s expected range, suggesting strong demand from investors and valuing the company at $1.3 billion. The shares rocketed to more than $21 in Thursday afternoon trading.
The Los Gatos, Calif., company is known for its boxes and sticks that let users watch Netflix, Hulu and the growing universe of streaming-video options on their TVs. It has the biggest share of the streaming-gadget market, but has deep-pocketed competitors in Amazon, Google and Apple.