April 8 Reuters Google parent Alphabet39;s contemplated acquisition of marketing software company HubSpot would likely spark opposition from regulators even as many experts agree it would not curb competition, and would require the technology giant to open a new front in its battle with antitrust watchdogs.

Reuters reported last week that Google was mulling an offer for HubSpot, which has a market value of 34 billion. Google has been weighing the antitrust risks of a potential deal and has yet to decide if it will make an offer.

Nearly a dozen antitrust experts and industry analysts said in interviews and analyst notes that it was unlikely that an acquisition by Google would hamper competition.

They said this is because the socalled customer relationship management CRM software sector in which HubSpot operates is already served by several major players, including Salesforce, Adobe, Microsoft and Oracle. Google does not compete in CRM, and the acquisition could make HubSpot a more formidable player thanks to Google39;s cloudcomputing resources, improving offerings and prices for customers, they added.

According to technology researcher Gartner, HubSpot, which focuses on smaller customers, had a 4.9 market share in 2022 in the CRM marketing software industry, while Salesforce and Adobe each held a 15 share.

Yet these experts also said it is very likely that a Google deal for HubSpot would trigger challenges from U.S. and European antitrust regulators, given their…