EU Approves Google DoubleClick Deal
The EU approved Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick today and Google’s ready.
As speculated last week, the EU today approved Google’s Acquisition of DoubleClick. The $3.1 billion deal went through despite concerns over privacy and antitrust issues.
The commission addressed those concerns by stating that users still had access to similar services offered by Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL.
Penry Price, Google VP Advertising Sales, said this morning that Google will soon start integrating DoubleClick technology with Google’s online platforms.
During the due diligence phase in mergers & acquisitions, companies typically review technology platforms. Comprehensive due diligence engages all relevant disciplines: legal, tax, accounting, investment banking, general management, information technology (IT) and human resources (HR), among others.
Price noted that Google hasn’t reviewed DoubleClick technology during the review process, so there’s not yet a product road map in place. Expect that to change soon as Google engineers upgrade DoubleClick technology.
Last December, the US Federal Trade Commission approved the deal, providing momentum for today’s decision. The EU typically does not reject mergers that the United States has approved.