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The
talks between Alphabet and HubSpot never progressed to due
diligence and fell apart shortly after the companies held
initial discussions on a potential deal, the source said, on
condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters.
HubSpot's shares closed 12% lower on Wednesday, while Alphabet's
shares were up 1.2%. Reuters had reported in April that Alphabet
was in talks with advisers about the possibility of making an
offer for HubSpot.
A deal for HubSpot, now valued at $25 billion, would have ranked
as Alphabet's biggest ever and risked scrutiny from antitrust
regulators. U.S. regulators have indicated growing aversion to
large technology companies getting bigger through acquisitions.
HubSpot, which builds marketing software for small and
medium-sized businesses, has specialized in so-called inbound
marketing, where consumers start engagement with a brand.
HubSpot customers apply its software to make advertising content
that consumers can click on.
CEO Yamini Rangan said in May on HubSpot's financial results
call that customer demand had weakened, as small businesses
worried about the economic impact of high interest rates.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Google is no longer in talks to
acquire HubSpot.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Additional
reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese; Editing by Shailesh Kuber,
Alan Barona and Lisa Shumaker)
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