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Google Gets Its Ad Deal

F.T.C. clears acquisition of DoubleClick. 
Google

Google has had its first major test in Washington, and it passed.

The Federal Trade Commission says it will not seek to block Google's planned $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, which places and tracks online ads.

Some internet and advertising companies said after the deal was first announced in April that a combination of Google—which dominates search and has become extremely profitable from placing text ads by search results—and the biggest internet advertising company would limit competition in online advertising.

But the F.T.C. said in a statement that "because the evidence failed to show that DoubleClick has market power in the third-party ad serving markets, it is unlikely that Google could effectively foreclose competition in the related ad intermediation market following the acquisition." The commission, which began its investigation in May, voted 4 to 1.

Lawmakers and consumer groups have also been worried about the impact of the deal on computer users' privacy. But the commission said that it had no authority to review the deal on anything other than antitrust law.

It's not over for Google, however. The European Commission is still reviewing the DoubleClick deal.

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