Google optimistic regulators won't bar Yahoo: source
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc believes regulators would not bar a potential business deal with Yahoo Inc because it would be "non-exclusive" and falls short of an outright merger, a person familiar with Google's thinking said on Friday.
Yahoo is exploring alternatives to Microsoft Corp's $42.7 billion takeover offer, which the Web pioneer has rejected for being too low.
The U.S. Justice Department is questioning the companies about potential competitive issues raised by a partnership, sources said this week, as Yahoo completed a two-week test of Google's system for selling ads alongside Yahoo's own Web search results.
Google believes such a partnership would not be anti-competitive because it would be an arrangement in which Yahoo would use Google's more profitable search advertising platform to make more money for itself, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A deal would be no different from partnerships Google has with other Web companies including Time Warner Inc's AOL and IAC/InterActiveCorp, the source said.
By contrast, Google thinks a takeover by Microsoft of Yahoo would raise far more antitrust concerns because the combined company could corner large chunks of multiple markets, from Web mail to instant messaging, the person said.
Google and Yahoo have said they cooperated with the Justice Department and told the agency about the test.
When Yahoo said two weeks ago that it had begun testing Google's AdSense system, it drew outcry from critics who see Google's domination of the market as a barrier to a deal. Continued...
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