Google- Yahoo deal faces antitrust probe
- Added:
- Jul 03, 2008
The US Justice Department has reportedly opened a formal antitrust investigation into a deal between Google and Yahoo to share some advertising revenue.
The Washington Post reports that investigators are planning to demand documents not only from Google and Yahoo, but also from other large companies in the Internet and media industries.
The newspaper cited sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Last month, Google and Yahoo agreed on an advertising partnership under which Yahoo will let Google put search ads on its site.
Google and Yahoo are ranked number one and two in search respectively.
When the advertising pact was announced on June 12, the companies said they would give antitrust authorities 100 days to look at the deal before beginning it.
But a formal investigation signals that the Justice Department may have found some cause for concern, The Washington Post said.
Yahoo expressed confidence that the deal would be good for competition, the article said.
"There is nothing unexpected in the review of this arrangement as structured by the parties and Department of Justice officials," Yahoo said in a statement, the Post reported.