Microsoft cements Yahoo search ad deal– but still awaits regulator approval
- Added:
- Dec 08, 2009
Microsoft and Yahoo have finalized the terms of a broad search and advertising agreement intended to help them compete more effectively with Google.
The deal was first announced in July, letting Microosoft’s new Bing search engine to power Yahoo’s search results. In return, Yahoo will provide premium search-advertising services for both companies.
They had hoped to finalize the deal in late October but needed more time to work out the details.
The companies today released a joint statement: “Microsoft and Yahoo! believe that this deal will create a sustainable and more compelling alternative in search that can provide consumers, advertisers and publishers real choice, better value, and more innovation.
“Yahoo! and Microsoft welcome the broad support the deal has received from key players in the advertising industry and remain hopeful that the closing of the transaction can occur in early 2010.”
In October, four ad executives and the president of the American Association of Advertising Agencies sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice in support of the agreement.
However, the DOJ is still reviewing the deal for possible antitrust concerns. In addition, the European Union must then clear the deal and allay any competition concerns. This is not expected to happen until an unconfirmed date in 2010.
Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo! search are pooling their efforts in order to try and take on the dominance of Google in the search market. According to Net Applications’ most recent global figures, Google accounted for 85 per cent of all searches, while Bing took 3.3 per cent share and Yahoo! search accounted for 6.22 per cent of the total market.
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