US approves Google DoubleClick deal

20th December 2007

Google's purchase of advertisement tracker firm DoubleClick has been approved by the US federal trade commission (FTC).

The FTC said in a statement: "After carefully reviewing the evidence, we have concluded that Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is unlikely to substantially lessen competition."

However, the deal is yet to be approved in Europe, with the European commission's deadline approaching. Originally intending to make an announcement in November, the commission delayed any decision until April 2nd 2008.

Google originally bought Doubleclick in April for $3.1 billion (£1.5 billion) but has been subject to reviews by a number of regulators after concerns were raised over privacy and competition laws.

Microsoft and AT&T were among the firms to claim the deal would give Google an unfair dominance over the market.

Google have announced that despite the FTC's four-to-one vote to approve the deal, it will delay any final decision until European regulators have cleared the purchase.