Google gets US clearance for DoubleClick takeover
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cleared Google’s proposed $3.1bn (1.56bn) takeover of online advertising and tracking company DoubleClick. The 4-1 decision in Google’s favour marks the end of an eight-month investigation into the deal.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cleared Google’s proposed $3.1bn (£1.56bn) takeover of online advertising and tracking company DoubleClick. The 4-1 decision in Google’s favour marks the end of an eight-month investigation into the deal.
The FTC says it has concluded that Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is “unlikely to substantially lessen competition”.
Concerns have been expressed about the deal’s impact on consumer privacy but the FTC said such issues were “not unique” to Google and DoubleClick and extended to the entire online market.
Google and DoubleClick still face considerable antitrust scrutiny from the European Commission (EC). Google has said the deal cannot be closed until European clearance is given.
The EC has set a deadline of 2 April 2008 to complete its own review.
