Microsoft bid for Yahoo! under fire from rival Google

Microsoft’s proposed bid for Yahoo! has come under fire from rival Google, which claims that the move could create unfair “PC software monopoly”.

†It says the software giant’s £22.7bn bid for Yahoo! could restrict access to rival instant messaging and email accounts.

Google chief legal officer David Drummond, who made the comments on the Google company blog, says: “Microsoft’s hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions. This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another.”

He adds that the two companies could “take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ email, instant messaging and web based services.”

The Microsoft bid, which was confirmed on Friday (February 1), is seen as the company’s most direct challenge yet to rival Google, the global giant in the online advertising market.

European competition authorities are expected to take a harsh line on the bid.