Google Closes Acquisition of DoubleClick

Google recently announced that it has completed negotiations before European anti-trust commissioners, and is finally able to close its $3.1 billion deal to acquire DoubleClick.

The new addition to the Google brand will bring a greater concentration of advertising power within one corporation. However, anti-trust hearings in the US and Europe felt that the companies could merge because they occupied different parts of the advertising search market (Google is the dominant online supplier of text-relevant ads, while DoubleClick is a large advertiser for banner ads). (Source: nytimes.com)

Commissioners in Europe also pointed out that customers have a wide variety of choice for search companies, such as Ask.com, AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo. The biggest concern for many critics is the unprecedented access to information that Google now has.

Part of Google's plan is to combine the search data that it maintains with DoubleClick's viewership tracking ability. This may result in a further refined advertising delivery service for individual users, but it also means that those same users will be under greater scrutiny by marketers.

The deal opens the door for Microsoft to acquire rival Yahoo. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Jeffrey Lindsay, an investment analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. said, "the strategy poses a significant threat to Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., which have distinguished themselves by providing display and search advertising services. As a result, Microsoft's push to buy Yahoo takes on greater urgency with Google's DoubleClick purchase." (Source: irishdev.com)

Google publicly denounced Microsoft's attempts to acquire Yahoo as a threat to the openness on the Internet. Sounds like the pot's calling the kettle black.