<Quote>
[Reports that the] European Union is preparing to approve Google's
pending acquisition of DoubleClick, the advertising technology firm.
The deal, which was announced last April, has been delayed mainly
because of protests by Microsoft that Google would gain monopoly power
in the online advertising business.
The acquisition was approved in the United States in December, but
European regulators have been looking at it more closely....
Now that Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo, tripling its share of the
search ad share and vaulting to the top of the online display ad
business, maybe it doesn't look like such an injured party.
In fact, it will be interesting to see how much scrutiny a Microsoft-
Yahoo combination gets from regulators in both the United States and
Europe. Google and DoubleClick, after all, are not in the same parts
of the business. DoubleClick adds new products to Google's lineup.
Microsoft and Yahoo, by contrast, are direct rivals in many areas.
Indeed, they will have dominant shares of some markets like instant
messaging and Web-based e-mail.
Google has already raised questions about the antitrust implications
of an acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft. No doubt it would appreciate
it if the refs put someone else in the penalty box this time.
</Quote>
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/europe-lets-googles-doubleclick-deal-out-of-the-penalty-box/index.html
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