053007: Privacy concerns won't scuttle DoubleClick acquisition

May 30, 2007
Updated 16:18:31 (Mla time)
Kelly Olsen
Associated Press

SEOUL -- Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said Wednesday that US regulatory approval of his company's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick will not be hindered by possible concerns over privacy.

"We're quite convinced that the proposed merger meets all of the appropriate US laws and is ultimately very good for consumers and for advertisers and publishers," Schmidt said at a press conference.

Google, the world's No. 1 Internet search engine company, announced its plan to buy New York-based DoubleClick Inc. last month in a $3.1 billion (2.3 billion euros) acquisition that privacy advocates have urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate.

DoubleClick helps its customers place and track online advertising, including search ads, which Google--more than its nearest search competitors Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.--has turned into an extremely lucrative business.

Google confirmed Tuesday that the FTC is conducting an antitrust review of the deal. Typically, antitrust reviews focus on monopoly concerns, such as whether the combined company will be able to raise prices without fear of competition. But there is precedent for them to address privacy worries, analysts say.

Schmidt said that Google, when considering the acquisition, "looked very carefully" at privacy and other issues that would come under legal review "because we knew competitors would raise those issues, as indeed they have."

Mountain View, California-based Google Inc. is "not concerned that the choice of the FTC brings in some new issue that we had not thought about," Schmidt said.

Schmidt was in South Korea to participate in the Seoul Digital Forum 2007, a three-day gathering of technology and media industry leaders organized by South Korean TV network SBS.

Earlier this month, Schmidt predicted Google would clear all the necessary regulatory hurdles to complete the acquisition by the end of 2007. He reiterated that view Wednesday, saying, "we're hoping to close later this year."

Several consumer advocacy groups, led by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, urged the FTC to investigate the privacy implications of Google's acquisition of DoubleClick.

The groups said in their April 20 complaint that the two companies, when combined, would have access to an unprecedented amount of data on consumers' Web usage and Internet search habits.

Regarding other possible acquisitions, Schmidt said Google is "always open" to the idea, though added that he had nothing specific to announce.

 

AP Business Writer Christopher S. Rugaber in Washington and Associated Press Writer Josh Dubow in San Francisco contributed to this report.

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