December 21, 2007 | Friday

Google gets go-ahead for DoubleClick buy - in the US, anyway

By Jackie Danicki - Blogger  in Marketing |News |Search Engines |Google |Microsoft

In a big win for Google, the US Federal Trade Commission has granted its unconditional approval of the search giant’s multi-billion dollar purchase of DoubleClick. Just what does that mean?

Well, the unconditional approval is a huge coup for Google, as the FTC is not asking the company to change any of its current business practices or sell off any of its other businesses. The FTC has also agreed that combining the data of Google and DoubleClick - a crucial, make-or-break feature of the deal - will not pose a competitive problem.

So how did Google pull this one off? After all, it’s not as if there were no objections to this deal, and it’s not as if the FTC isn’t more than willing to smash business deals when the mood strikes.

While there are no accusations (yet) that Google did anything out of the ordinary to influence this decision, it has been duly noted that the company is unquestionably now playing the lobbying game. As Tim Faulkner writes:

Well done, Google. Larry and Sergey’s little startup has gotten over its aversion to evil and embraced the byways of Washington. You think Microsoft isn’t wining and dining politicians and bureaucrats at every opportunity? We’re not saying that spending a beautiful week at a luxurious hotel in the mountains of Colorado, with Google indirectly footing the bill, had anything to do with the commission’s decision. We’re just saying that it’s good Google has learned how to play the game, instead of trying to make up its own rules.

Google’s European lobbying arm will be working overtime in 2008: The European Commission may delay its decision on the deal until the spring. It will come as a surprise to no one that the EC is a much tougher nut to crack than the FTC, and Google cannot quite celebrate a triumph on the DoubleClick acquisition until they are cleared for business in Europe.

So watch this space. Microsoft - which just announced a £250 million partnership with Viacom that is a partial answer to the DoubleClick deal - certainly will be.

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