FTC Clears Google-DoubleClick Deal – WSJ.com
“The Federal Trade Commission has cleared Google Inc.’s proposed $3.1 billion takeover of DoubleClick Inc., saying the deal is “unlikely to substantially lessen competition.”
“Regulators voted 4-1 vote to end the eight-month investigation.
This is good news for interactive marketers who need third-party ad serving into Google’s universe of advertising impressions. Doubleclick was in danger of looking like tired technology two years ago (when I actually figured out how to use their flagship product, Dart, while rebuilding ad ops at CXO Media) and still remains the default for most ad serving in the old page-view/banner world.
However, Dart can be taught new tricks and Google is the company to teach them. I don’t see the antitrust objections from Microsoft — the Aquantive acquisition and Atlas gives them a big of a leg up in terms of targeting capabilities.
The effects of a Google-Doubleclick combination should be profound and especially reverb strongest within the interactive ad agencies trafficking teams.