Google and Yahoo in Talks with Department of Justice
According to reports, Yahoo and Google are talking with the U.S. Department of Justice in hopes of protecting their proposed advertising agreement.
From BizJournals.com:
The Wall Street Journal reported that Sunnyvale-based Yahoo and Mountain View-based Google are still in early stages of negotiations with the DOJ.
Antitrust concerns have been raised about the proposed deal by advertising groups who say Google would gain too much of the online advertising space.
The Journal reported that both companies have talked about some concessions to allay concerns, including a cap on the volume of Google ads used by Yahoo.
In October the companies delayed their proposed deal in the face of heavy opposition from advertising groups in the U.S. and beyond.
At the time Yahoo said in a statement that the two companies “have had discussions with regulators and look forward to responding to their questions about this agreement.”
Google added, “As we are still in conversation with the Department of Justice we have agreed to a brief delay in implementing the agreement while those discussions continue.”
From CNET:
Meanwhile, the Justice Department and a multistate task force are still reviewing the proposal to decide whether to oppose the partnership, which has been criticized by advertising groups as anticompetitive. In September, the Justice Department hired antitrust litigator Sandy Litvack as a consultant in its networking and technology unit to weigh whether the case could be won at trial, say sources.
Under the nonexclusive partnership, which the companies hope to launch later this month, Google would supply Yahoo with some search ads, a move that could increase Yahoo search revenue but that also gives Google even more power in the market. Yahoo expects the 10-year deal to raise revenue by $800 million in its first year and to provide an extra $250 million to $450 million in incremental operating cash flow.
Tags: Advertising, Department of Justice, DOJ, Google, Google Advertising, Google Yahoo, Mountain View, Sandy Litvack, Sunnyvale, Yahoo Advertising, Yahoo!
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