Google and DoubleClick deal hits EU roadblock

David Johnson November 14th, 2007

In other Google union news, European regulators refused to approve Google’s $3.1 billion purchase of the Internet advertising company DoubleClick. The European Commission, the part of the European Union that oversees antitrust issues for the 27 member nations, said the merger raised concerns about competition and required a more thorough review of its effects on the Internet advertising business. Slightly ironic, while some residents on the west side of the Atlantic use “socialist” as a dirty word, the EU is doing the capitalist dance very well and is going way ahead in many areas of technology and new business. Some estimates say Google already has 70 to 80 percent of the paid-search advertising market locked up. No wonder old school ad-driven businesses like oh… television, newspapers, and magazines… are having a hard time making it online as they all scrap over the scraps.