Cash-rich Microsoft seeks Yahoo approval

Competition regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are readying themselves to examine Microsoft’s unsolicited $44.6 billion (€30bn) offer for Yahoo, announced on Friday (1 February).

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said on Monday (4 February) that he hoped to close the deal, which is an attempt to catch up with rival Google on the web advertising market, by the end of the year.

The deal has yet to be formally notified to regulators in the EU and the US and the European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have not yet commented on the deal. Hours after the bid was announced on Friday, the US Congress Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing to be held on Friday (8 February).

After formal notification, the Commission would have one month to make an initial assessment of the deal. Were the transaction to raise serious competition concerns, regulators could launch a phase-two investigation, to last up to four months.

Google’s €2.2bn bid for online ad tracker DoubleClick is currently being scrutinised by the Commission in a phase-two investigation. The Commission has until 2 April to rule on the tie-up, approved by the US FTC at the end of last year.

Both Yahoo and Microsoft had expressed competition concerns to the Commission about the Google-DoubleClick merger. Yahoo is now said to be interested in a partnership with Google.

In 2004, the Commission ordered Microsoft to change its business practices, fining the company €497 million. The ruling was upheld by the European Court of First Instance in September.

Competition regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are readying themselves to examine Microsoft’s unsolicited $44.6 billion (€30bn) offer for Yahoo, announced on Friday (1 February).