After waiting for almost a year, search engine giant Google cleared the final regulatory hurdles and closed its acquisition of DoubleClick. Back in April 2007, Google announced its $3.1-billion US purchase of DoubleClick, an online ad placement firm. However, the deal was held up due to thorough antitrust scrutiny by antitrust agencies in both the US and Europe.
On December 20, 2007, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allowed the acquisition to proceed, notwithstanding opposition to the merger by companies including Microsoft Corp., Yahoo! and AT&T Inc., as well as by industry groups and politicians. The FTC concluded that the merger is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any relevant antitrust market.
On March 11, 2008, the European Commission also approved the acquisition. Following a lengthy investigation, the Commission concluded that the merger would not significantly impede effective competition in Europe. It observed that Google and DoubleClick were not competitors. Even if they ultimately became rivals, the Commission determined that the other competitors would likely exert sufficient competitive pressure in the market. Also, the presence of credible ad-serving alternatives for consumers, such as Microsoft and Yahoo!, would prevent the merged entity from being able to marginalize competitors.
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