They have bought world pay for 9 billion. This comes after j. P. Morgan showed interest, but backed away. The u. S. Credit card processor will grade gator exposure to ecommerce and Small Businesses through this acquisition. Cory johnson and his partner joined us for reaction at to deal. Corey why cincinnati, ohio . Whats interesting to spin off from this tells you the history of the business of payment transaction and what is happening is the way this business works, when you use your credit card, they find it if youve got the money in your bank account and they approve the credit or not. There are a number of steps that happen behind the scenes. Each of those steps takes a different chunk. You get the verification from the merchant and the movement of the money between the merchant and the bank and the verification, when you go through the steps, there is money taken each hard way. It results in billions and billions of dollars. The movement of commerce has gone from physical stores to online. Of the payment infrastructure and the service has changed. Thats why you see vantiv making this move. Caroline they have one of the biggest portfolios out there in your. Isnt all about the graduation of payments . Thats a big part of the story. There is a big market and its growing fast as we go from cash to card and online. The story is very much a part of that move. 40 of transactions are online, its very much part of the dna. They have a very big Global Presence in asia. That is part of the story. This had been focused on more traditional brickandmortar. That had been under attack under more online. One way to do that is to have the main one being commodity based in holland. It is very much plane on the same strengths of a new global footprint and offering an omni channel offering online. That has been very important to us. Caroline its interesting that this is the key move and we are hearing of a portfolio company, what about other m a . Interestingly, it wasnt the only suited to begin with. Jpmorgan was looking at it. Cory there have been a number of acquisitions in this area over the last few years. We have seen the Traditional Companies have more exposure to ecommerce. We saw heartland acquired. That was for nearly 1 billion. There was a deal today for nearly 10 billion. Let us not forget the very specific action that amazon took in going after whole foods. Shares dropped on that area they use vantiv to do their transactions. They are not mentioned in the report. One of amazon said we are going to stick with the existing payment structure. Well use our payment processor which is j. P. Morgan. The competitive space here is quite alive and you can see that the m a going out, they are trying to buy the new company with the notion that the Ecommerce Companies are kingmakers, none more so than amazon. Caroline its interesting, we saw another deal in europe, a Danish Company saying it was bought by americans. What about the company having your port folio, good m a be the exit route . We would like for this to see potential in be as big as it can be. We feel europe can build these 10 billion companies that can stand alone. They have a very large footprint. They dont need a backer to go all the way. That has been the pitch from the getgo. That is very much what were focusing on. Caroline that was cory johnson and martin. Facebook could be the next target for antitrust watchdogs. Germany is examining whether facebook is taking advantage of its popularity by pushing users into agreements they might not understand. We discuss what is next for european regulators. Privacy is more important in europe to regulators. There are more rules and regulations in that region than in the u. S. This combines antitrust and privacy in the one charge here. They are saying if you want to get in the social network, facebook is probably your only choice in the western world. That dominance over data is forcing signed up for these terms and conditions. Caroline the debate commences. Sometimes scale and size is good to the consumer, but it seems here determined to give a feeling that its making facebook too pushy. This investigation was announced i can march. Does it mean anything from a real perspective . What is happening over there, anything can go right now. Whos to say they wont crack down on facebook. At the same time, you are hearing her encourage other companies to sue google. Anything can happen. Its interesting to go after the privacy angle. Right now, its tough to say. Its a wild card out there. Caroline when you are looking at it from here in london, this is a German Antitrust Authority looking at facebook. They are saying it may be time for others to start. It might, the fines dont matter. Im not sure the monetary value of these fines actually make a difference for the companys themselves. I do think one goal of the regulator is to say all. It signals to the rest of the market that there is a watchdog, somebody is paying attention. Somebody is trying to preserve competition and preserve user privacy or the benefit for consumers. A lot of this is signaling. A lot of this is perception. Watch really going to make Companies Care . Its really arbitrary. The point is the industry and the sector knows that Small Companies trying to come up might have a chance and dont give up and dont think you cant compete. Dont think there is not a level playing field. Caroline talk to us about how the tech giants are interpreting this and the European Commission and the german antiauthority who are working on facebook here. Is this about increasing competition . They feel facebook case in particular, its a real overstretch, taking an antitrust argument which understandably in europe is different than the u. S. And applying it to privacy is a leap. On the google side, there was kind of an era resignation. They do say that they are considering an appeal. The comment that they put out this time versus a year ago were less combative. There is an air resting nation, especially when it comes to more pure antitrust cases. Caroline i just want to get your thought of someone who is looking at potential value for these companies. You rate facebook, as it make you worry about your price targets for these companies or not . Not yet. We put out a note on google saying this is overreach. I always joke around saying if you dont like the privacy, dont use the service. Thats what we do here all the time. Ultimately, i am most interested in our worry is we see in action from the United States. We are in a position where we see a pattern of going after and trying to change the way these companies do business. There is no recourse or any response from the United States government at that point. Caroline you think this is european regulators completely overstepping the mark . You dont think theres any reason why they should be trying to level these accusations . I think they are picking the wrong battles. You can make the case that these of all done something wrong at some point or another. I think the battle they are trying to win it with the vertical search with google, they have done a lot worse. When they scraped yelp content and used it as their own, that is a lot worse. What i would like to see is what the u. S. Responses. That would affect my rating and targets. As of now, i agree that it is more signaling. Caroline now coming up, we will explore the vc environment outside Silicon Valley. They just raised 150 million. This is bloomberg. Caroline london is defending its title as europes tech capital. The Promotional Firm for the city drove to billion dollars into the technology sector. That out paste other european cities including berlin. One firm Just Announced it is raising 150 million. The firm backs some of the biggest successes. They joined us to discuss the current landscape. When we started two years ago, that was a big precedent. Especially with our position around the creative class. This is a great example of technology and creativity. Postbrexit, there were some questions. The question Going Forward was more what kind of opportunity will you be able to find in london . Based on the way we work, we go after opportunities based on when they are. We dont expect to do everything on home turf in london. We met somebody in portugal. Our job is to find this and convince the entrepreneurs to work with this irrespective of location. Caroline what are you focusing on with the second fund the . Where are the opportunities . Its a validation of our original a couple of years ago. When we invest without company for the longterm, it takes up to 10 years to build the company. We are humbled by the interest from the investors. The problem is we have the opportunity for a venture firm that is focused. The emergence of new brands, a are investing the way we lead our lives. There are different lifestyle segments from fashion to food and wellbeing. Everything is changing. We are looking for those founders who have a sense of what people want, who are Building Communities and where we can help them build business. Caroline you will be watching. What level do you see yourself going at now . That is bigger than a c brand. These numbers keep getting bigger each time. Were not dogmatic about being the first investor. We want to back the best founder in the segment. This is where we can see a big opportunity. Caroline how are you seeking them out . We look at data, signals. These days, using social media you can track and measure customer love with the number of flags on instagram and twitter. We are very founder centric. We like to see passion, we like to see emotion between consumers and product, service, or brand. We combined art and science and our business is about making decisions much later. Its not black and white or it it is always great. Caroline last time it was unilever, is it institutional money . The bar two years ago was very high. Even to our surprise, the Investor Base was very traditional. People understand the venture business. They chose to back because they thought we were offering something different. Caroline coming up, there has been a slew of tech ipos as the market returns to form. We look at how they are faring and look at the next crop of Tech Startups waiting to take the plunge. Alibaba has a new Smart Speaker. Who else is in the race to own your home . We will discuss that next. This is bloomberg. Caroline initial Public Offerings are ramping up in the u. S. Activity is up 243 compared to 2016. Globally, it is up 96 . This comes on the heels of blue aprons lackluster debut last week. What does this mixed bag create for the remainder of the year . We asked analysts. It does give me encouragement. As we have seen with other types of things, we are more insulated in increased valuations and decreases as well. When companies have gone public and listed, they have been through extra rigor because there has not been this enthusiasm that is unchecked like we see in the states. Last year, even though numbers were down, we had offerings there were more resilient than listings in new york. I do think it bodes well. We are going to see a lot more coming from financial services. There will be other sectors as i was saying earlier. Maybe not so much ecommerce, we will see other sectors coming into the market. Caroline your take from the slightly more meager blue apron . Hass that shaken the rest of the ipo market . Do they look across the pond and see how its faring in germany . Maybe blue apron is a oneoff . I am more pessimistic area i do agree that there are sectors like financial and software that are more conducive to ipos. At the same time, we are below where we were a couple of years ago. The industries that are hard, i think those are going to be facing greater scrutiny. What is going to be a test is when you look into it, are they going to go direct . Is the game going to change . These are things we dont know yet. Caroline talk about the game changes. We saw snap change the game. That is another company that james analyzes. They cap all the power with the ceo. They are not raising a more money, just coming to the market. What do you see from companies coming through . I think this next generation of companies that started with google when they came to market and zuckerberg when he brought facebook, there is a huge appetite from the market for really solid Tech Companies that have fundamentals. People are willing to concede other measures for publicly listed companies in order to get value in the business. I dont know if spotify will put it off. Dropbox will try to do something that gives them and it antigen or an incentive to list. We are seeing uber and other companies. Otherwise, they will raise money on private markets. I think control is going to be a big thing. Preservation of status, options, preference rights. How much they might have to yield and disclosed in the listing, if they can stay within regulator rules whether they have to be as transparent, they may share social media without having to go through pages of disclosures. Caroline how hard does that make your job . You have to go through snaps listing. What do you see when you looking at the rules of the Game Changing . If i was in a private company, i would not what to go public. Its not easy. At the end of the day, i dont have to analyze companies that are private. I just need anecdotes and information flow in order to assess the public companies. That comes from relationships and so forth did it doesnt really change my life all that much. Caroline are you looking for dropbox this year . Are you looking at names it might be coming to the u. S. Market . Obviously, there could be some others. The one i am keeping my eye on the most is spotify. Caroline a new forecast says electric cars will outsell fuel powered vehicles by 2040. According to bloomberg, battery prices will plunge. The Auto Industry will be turned upside down. This will bring about economic turmoil for oil exporting companies. How tech firms are planning to combat Sexual Harassment. We are Live Streaming on twitter. Check us out at bloomberg tech tv. This is bloomberg. These days families want to be connected 24 7. Thats why at comcast were continuing to make our services more reliable than ever. Like technology that can update itself. An advanced fibernetwork infrustructure. New, more Reliable Equipment for your home. And a new culture built around customer service. It all adds up to our most Reliable Network ever. One that keeps you connected to what matters most. Caroline welcome back to the best of Bloomberg Technology. I am Caroline Hyde in london. The competition in digital speaker assistance is getting more intense. Alibaba has unveiled an echolike device. Fellow chinese internet giant tencent and samsung have each prepared to develop their own ai powered speakers. We spoke with mark gurman on the growing Artificial Intelligence entering intelligence landscape entering your home. Only for the first trial, 1000 orders, im curious to see how high the price goes, or even if there will be more than 1000 people rushing to buy it. I am assuming there will be given how big alibabas spread is across asia. This year, 2017, has become the year of the digital speaker. And Everyone Wants in. Sampson wants in. Tencent wants in. Why are we seeing this drive . What do the Companies Want in their ecosystem . Use saw amazon and google jump in last year with update to the echo line. Lots of new alexa devices. Like the tap, dot, and the new echo show has the screen and the echo look as well. Its more of a style guide for your wardrobe. Apple, they announced the home pod for 350. You have players in china trying to jump in. Why do they want these . Lets start with apple. The home pod takes advantage of apple music and siri and home kit and their Homebased Services and streaming services, where they are trying to make the bulk of the money in the future has hardware sales. It is important because people really want Smart Speakers. You see the demand for alexa. You see the demand for amazon and googles home speaker products. If apple does not create their own, or if others dont create their own, people will buy amazon products. They might really like alexa, and say, maybe i should subscribe to prime music or video instead of apple music in itunes and buy an amazon fire tv instead of apple tv. We are starting to see this pace of people wanting to see those devices. If apple does not create their own and others do not create their own, they risk losing other product lines to other companies. Caroline lets go to vc tech. When you see this rush for ai, you say how Driverless Cars is the hottest investment in the last four months, is ai a good investment . I think it has been a good area, but we have seen a lot of startups in that space. On the Smart Speaker side we have not really seen anyone. Very few startups. We have not really seen anything going after that. Im a skeptic on the home Smart Speaker area, where we have not seen an ecosystem growing up after them. Even as a user or the potential investor in them, what is the retention . What is the engagement with those . I have had one for six months. It is catching dust. Francine caroline mine is a timer generally. Exactly. I think the voice interface is a little simplistic. What can it actually do . That is the reason why they have been adding a screen now. If you have a screen and the speaker, it is just an ipad to does not move. I dont really understand it. I believe voice is a complement to other things as an interface, but the simple voice interface device in the home i am a bit skeptical. Caroline you go to the app developer conferences. Are they not managing to entice that investors on board . Fac