14 DAY TRIAL // The case concerning the Google - DoubleClick acquisition seems to be one of the most popular stories in the last few months due to the statements made by the officials related to the matter. Today, Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said for Reuters that the agency is working as quickly as possible to resolve the case but there are several matters which should be clarified before the final decision is announced. In case you haven't read the news, Google announced a few months ago that it has reached an agreement to acquire advertising giant DoubleClick for no less than $3.1 billion.
Because Google was already the leader of the advertising competition and a potential deal with DoubleClick would mean acquiring the rival, several companies required the authorities to investigate the deal as it might infringe the antitrust laws. Microsoft, Yahoo and AT&T were among the top companies which didn't agree with the acquisition that is currently analyzed by the Federal Trade Comission.
"Our staff is working through the matter as expeditiously as possible given the complexity of the matter," Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said according to Reuters. "(The review) can't be about privacy, per se."
A few days ago, it was reported that Australia approved the deal between Google and DoubleClick but the two companies' officials are still expecting the decisions from the European Union and the Federal Trade Commission in the United States.
Although the acquisition is now analyzed by the investigators, Google's rivals already took attitude and signed deals to be sure they could face the competition. For example, Microsoft bought aQuantive, while Yahoo acquired the remaining shares of Right Media, a company which might help the Sunnyvale company increase its presence on the online advertising market. Moreover, the competition signed several deals to promote their ad solutions. For example, Microsoft partnered with Facebook to distribute adverts on all its websites.