Business news with words antitrust+billion+commission. 12 news.

WITH US antitrust clearance for its DoubleClick purchase, Google's focus now turns to European regulators, who are expected to be more critical of the top search engine linking up with a market leader in online advertising. The proposed US$3.1-billion transaction, which is strongly opposed by privacy advocates, cannot be completed without approval from the European Commission, whose review deadline is April 2. The Federal Trade Commission said that the deal would not significantly lessen competition in the online advertising market, rebuffing complaints from Microsoft Corp and AT&T Inc that it would give Google a dominant position. "The FTC's strong support sends a clear message - this acquisition poses no risk to competition and will benefit consumers," Eric Schmidt, Google Inc's chief executive, said. "We hope that the European Commission will soon reach the same conclusion." The European Commission declined to comment on the FTC's decision, spokesman

Federal antitrust regulators approved Google Inc.'s $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick Inc. Thursday, removing a key barrier to the marriage of two online advertising giants. In a 4-1 vote, the Federal Trade Commission closed its high-profile, eight-...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it approved Google's proposed $3.1 billion purchase of advertising rival DoubleClick.

Antitrust regulators approved Google’s $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, clearing the way for a formidable combination in the burgeoning online advertising sector. Microsoft and AT&T have lobbied heavily against the deal, but the Federal Trade Commission gave it the go-ahead Thursday. The transaction still faces substantial antitrust scrutiny in Europe, and Google has said that it won’t [...]

Google Inc. offered to preserve some business practices at DoubleClick Inc. in a bid to win antitrust approval for its proposed $3.1 billion purchase of the company. The European Commission, the 27-nation EU's antitrust regulator in Brussels...

The European Commission said Monday it would take until Nov. 13 to examine Google Inc.'s US$3.1 billion (euro2.29 billion) bid for online ad tracker DoubleClick to look at promises made by Google that aim to eliminate antitrust concerns.

The European Commission said Monday it would take until Nov. 13 to examine Google Inc.'s $3.1 billion bid for online ad tracker DoubleClick to review proposals by the world's largest search engine meant to eliminate antitrust concerns.

The European Union said Monday that Thomson’s plan to buy the Reuters Group raised competition concerns for the supply of financial information. The European Commission, Europe’s antitrust authority in Brussels, told the companies it needed more time to study the 8.7 billion pound ($17.7 billion) acquisition. Thomson and Reuters said in a separate statement that they [...]

AP - Thomson Corp.'s $18.4 billion offer for Reuters will face an in-depth inquiry by EU antitrust regulators who worry the deal could harm competition in the financial information industry, the European Commission said Monday.

Thomson Corp.'s $18.4 billion offer for Reuters will face an in-depth inquiry by EU antitrust regulators who worry the deal could harm competition in the financial information industry, the European Commission said Monday.

Why regulators should keep their eyes on Microsoft, and others TEN years after Microsoft was dragged before the courts, all its big antitrust cases are back in the news. This week the European Court upheld the European Commission's 2004 decision against the software firm (see article). In a few weeks a judge will decide whether the consent decree in the American case should be extended, keeping Microsoft under close scrutiny. And in South Korea a court will soon rule on whether the firm should unbundle its media-player software from its Windows operating system. But does the Microsoft case really still matter? Many of those who called for action a decade ago no longer seem to care. Competitors have cut their own deals with Microsoft, extracting nearly $5 billion from the firm, rather than wait for this week's ruling. Microsoft's evil empire has been overshadowed by a newer, and therefore more exciting, threat in the shape of Google. And, geeks point out, the computing world has now become so interconnected that it will be hard for a single company to control it.

Europe's Court of First Instance on Monday said the European Commission's antitrust claims against Microsoft are valid and that the software maker "abused its dominant position" while marketing Windows products.