The Yahoo! – Microsoft deal has now been passed by the European Commission, paving the way for it to be implemented within the “next few days” according to an official press release.
Yesterday, Microsoft and Yahoo! announced the outcome of the European Commission’s ruling on the search deal. Regulators in the US, Australia, Brazil and Canada have all approved the deal, which still requires formal approval in other jurisdictions including Korea, Taiwan and Japan. The Yahoo! press release states that the European ruling will see the deal being implemented within "the next few days", with Yahoo! becoming the
“exclusive relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers globally”.
The press release goes on to explain the deal as follows:
“Under terms of the agreement, which was announced in late July 2009, Microsoft will provide Yahoo! with the same search result listings available through Bing, and Yahoo! will innovate around those listings by integrating rich Yahoo! content, enhanced listings with conveniently organized information about key topics, and tools to tailor the experience for Yahoo! users.
Yahoo! will focus on providing a compelling and innovative search experience that allows people to find and explore the things, people and sites that matter most to them. While Microsoft will provide the underlying platform, both companies will continue to create different, compelling and evolving experiences, competing for audience, engagement and clicks.”
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO summed the deal up by stating:
“I believe that together, Microsoft and Yahoo! will promote more choice, better value and greater innovation to our customers as well as to advertisers and publishers.”
The deal’s approval was largely expected by those in the industry, with the consensus being that Yahoo! and Microsoft together can compete more effectively with Google in order to prevent it from becoming an entirely dominant force. Further details about the deal can be found at searchalliance.com.
Tags: acquisitions, antitrust, Google, Microsoft, online advertising, search, yahoo!