Google and Yahoo! make last attempt to win ad deal approval

Google and Yahoo! have made a final attempt to win approval for their proposed search advertising deal in a revised submission to the US Department of Justice.

The two companies have adjusted their proposal, reducing the length of the deal from 10 years to two and putting a 25% cap on the percentage of Yahoo! search revenue that can be generated from Google, in a bid to get regulators to agree to the deal.

Google advertisers would also have the chance to opt out of appearing on Yahoo! under the new proposal.

If the deal goes ahead, which would see Google ads displayed in Yahoo! searches, the two companies would comprise 80% of the US market.

Advertisers are concerned that this would eliminate competition in the market and increase prices as a result.

Following a meeting with the US Department of Justice last week, a number of close sources suggested that the two search giants should walk away from the deal.

However, both companies have said that they are still committed to pushing it through (see Google & Yahoo: Partnership Still On?).

The proposed partnership will be discussed at MediaTel’s “Future of Online” seminar on November 25 – the panel includes Google’s Dominic Allon.

Details can be found on our Seminar website: click here for more information and booking

Google: 020 7031 3000 www.google.co.uk Yahoo!: 020 7808 4200 www.yahoo.co.uk