The Federal Trade Commission will reportedly check the antitrust impact of Google’s intended $3.1 billion purchase of ad management firm DoubleClick.
Google senior corporate counsel Don Harrison said in a statement yesterday that the acquisition “poses no risk to competition and should be approved.”
“Numerous independent analysts and academics have determined after looking at this acquisition that the online advertising industry is a dynamic and evolving space — as evidenced by a number of recently announced acquisitions,” Harrison said.
The investigation, news of which broke in the press over the weekend, was widely anticipated when the search leader first announced its intention to buy DoubleClick last April. Both Microsoft and AT&T were quick to urge the commission to look closely at the anticompetitive impact of the buy.
As it happens, Microsoft has since made its own contribution to the evolution of the online ad space with an announced intention to purchase rival ad-management company aQuantive for $6 billion.
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