Posted on ZDNet News: Oct 30, 2007 6:11:00 AM
The Australian competition regulator on Tuesday said it would not block the $3.1 billion acquisition by Google of U.S. Web advertising supplier DoubleClick. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said its inquiry found that the two companies were not close competitors in the provision of ad serving. It added that other competitors in the market would put some constraints on the merged company.
The DoubleClick deal has also come under regulatory scrutiny in the United States and in Europe. European regulators have extended their inquiry to allow remedies to possible competition problems to be tested, while U.S. experts have predicted that it will win approval there. The deal faces opposition from competitors Microsoft and Yahoo. The Australian competition watchdog has taken Google to court in a separate case, alleging that sponsored advertising links on Google's Web site in 2005 amounted to misleading and deceptive conduct. The next hearing in that case is due on November 16.
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