Google’s $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick stands amidst controversy as European Commission competition authorities refused to approve the deal.The commission, which rules on antitrust issues for the 27 countries in the European Union, said the merger raised competition concerns and required a more thorough review of its impact on the Internet advertising business.
‘We are obviously disappointed,’ Eric E. Schmidt, chief executive of Google, said in a statement. Saying the company would work with the commission, he added, ‘We seek to avoid further delays that might put us at a disadvantage in competing fully against Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and others whose acquisitions in the highly competitive online advertising market have already been approved.’
DoubleClick is a company that develops and provides Internet ad serving services. Its clients include agencies, marketers (Universal McCann Interactive, AKQA etc.) and publishers who service customers like Microsoft, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Motorola, L’Oreal, Palm, Inc., Visa USA, Nike, Carlsberg among others.
Google announced on April 14, 2007 that it came to a definitive agreement to acquire DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in cash. The closing of the deal remains uncertain as several companies, including Yahoo, AT&T and Microsoft, have encouraged regulators to examine the deal.
