S&P Capital IQ today laid out a dozen Internet and mobile predictions for 2012. Among the highlights:
-We expect Google to experience further legal and regulatory problems in the U.S.
and around the world, and foresee the potential for over $1 billion in fines and penalties.
-We believe 2012 will be an important year for mobile payments, but that Google and Google
Wallet won't be leading the way. Rather, we expect eBay's payments business, led by PayPal, to become much more of a force in the mobile area and bolster its presence in retail locations.
We also think eBay could look to spin off its payments unit as an IPO, or even be renamed PayPal.
-Contrary to the view of many, we don't expect 2012 to be a banner year for mobile
advertising.
-We believe there will be at least a $1 billion offer from private equity firms to buy an Internet company. According to Capital IQ data, the largest-ever private equity
purchase of an Internet company was for $572 million , when Bankrate was acquired in July 2009 .
No word on whether S&P will downgrade the U.S. credit rating again this year. Read the full
list of predictions here.
advertisement
advertisement