UPDATE: No sooner had I hit “publish,” I get an email from Google confirming the deal has been approved by the FTC. The announcement reads in part…
In its clearance opinion released today, the FTC explicitly rejected any current or potential competition concerns. Google and DoubleClick are complementary businesses and do not compete with each other. Google’s current business primarily involves the selling of text-based ads, while DoubleClick’s core business is delivering and reporting on display ads. DoubleClick does not buy ads, sell ads, or buy or sell advertising space. Rather, it provides technology to enable advertisers and publishers to deliver ads once they have agreed to terms, and to provide advertisers and publishers statistics relating to those ads.
The FTC’s opinion also noted the robust competition in the online ad serving space, and Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick is just one of several recent transactions that underscore this strong competition. In recent months, several major transactions in the online advertising space were announced, including Yahoo’s acquisition of Right Media; AOL’s acquisition of ADTECH AG and TACODA; WPP Group’s acquisition of 24/7 Real Media; and Microsoft’s $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive and acquisition of AdECN Inc.
While the FTC’s opinion reaffirmed the law by noting that privacy concerns played no role in its merger review, Schmidt reiterated the company’s commitment to user privacy.
“For us, privacy does not begin or end with our purchase of DoubleClick,” Schmidt said. ”We have been protecting our users’ privacy since our inception, and will continue to innovate in how we safeguard their information and maintain their trust.”
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According to Bloomberg’s sources, the Federal Trade Commission will likely approve Google’s $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick–with the decision coming as early as this week.
The five-member Federal Trade Commission is poised to approve the transaction after reviewing complaints by Microsoft Corp. and AT&T Inc. that the combination would harm competition for Internet advertisements, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
No news yet on whether European Union regulators will follow suit.
