“Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer’s quip that Google is spending ‘a lot of money’ on its proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility is not simply a catty remark, nor does it merely reflect a philosophical difference between the two companies, as CFO Journal suggested Thursday,” Michael Hickins writes for The Wall Street Journal.

“Oppenheimer’s remark is aimed directly at one of Google’s principal assets – its share price. In essence, Oppenheimer was telling Google shareholders that its management had overspent for this acquisition; if its shareholders agree, Google management would have one slightly less effective weapon in its arsenal,” Hickins writes. “Even in an all-cash deal where the acquiring company’s share price doesn’t directly come into play, buying a company with a higher P/E multiple would be dilutive to the acquirer’s earnings, and thus markedly less attractive to shareholders.”

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Related article:
Apple CFO Oppenheimer says Google spent ‘a lot of money’ on Motorola Mobility – August 17, 2011