The US competition regulator the Federal Trade Commission given approval to Google’s $3.1 billion (£1.5 billion) acquisition of DoubleClick.
The acquisition was cleared by the FTC by four votes to one, with the regulator saying that the takeover was “unlikely to substantially lessen competition”.
The decision is the culmination of an eight month investigation into the deal, which has seen other companies campaigning that the takeover reduces competition in the online advertising market (see Google DoubleClick Acquisition Under Investigation).
In a statement, the FTC said: “Because the evidence did not support the theories of potential competitive harm, there was no basis on which to seek to impose conditions on this merger.
“We want to be clear, however, that we will closely watch these markets and, should Google engage in unlawful tying [exclusively bundling the two companies services] or other anticompetitive conduct, the commission intends to act quickly.”
Eric Schmidt, Google chairman and CEO, said: “The FTC’s strong support sends a clear message: this acquisition poses no risk to competition and will benefit consumers.
“We hope that the European Commission will soon reach the same conclusion, and we are confident that this deal will deliver more relevant ads for consumers, more choices for advertisers, and more opportunities for website publishers.”
The acquisition was approved earlier this year by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and was recommended for approval by one of three Brazilian regulatory agencies.
Google cannot close the acquisition until the European Commission, which is still examining the transaction, grants clearance of the deal.
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