Google-DoubleClick Gets Capitol Hill Treatment; Microsoft Says Google Already Is Amazon Plus FedEx
By Joseph Weisenthal - Thu 27 Sep 2007 05:32 PM PST
The prepared statements from Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) set the tone for today’s hearing on Capitol Hill over Google’s planned acquisition of DoubleClick. The two companies, aided by sympathetic groups brought in to testify, volleyed back and forth on the issues of competition, pricing and privacy.
Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ): Microsoft Counsel Brad Smith countered Google’s analogy, that DoubleClick is to Google what FedEx is to Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), by saying Google was already Amazon and FedEx and that it was now trying to buy the Post Office. Microsoft seemed to have an ally in committee chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT), who, in his prepared remarks, expressed the fairly boilerplate concern that reduced competition could lead to higher prices in online advertising. He, as well as fellow Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), also wanted to know what kind of safeguards would be in place to protect privacy. On the other hand, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) seemed to support the deal, noting that in a recent conversation with Google CEO Eric Schmidt, he was assured that the purchase would result in more New York City jobs.
Wired News: Google went on the offensive over the privacy issue, claiming that Microsoft has tons of personal info on users, stemming from its purchase of online ads and large email service. David Drummond, the chief legal officer, added that DoubleClick did not store personally identifying information on users and that if politicians are concerned about this issue, they’d be better off addressing the whole industry rather than focusing on Google.
AP: Kohl: “No clear winner” on either side.
Ultimately, sounds like the hearing played to a draw, which, in practice, is probably a win for Google. The Senate doesn’t really have any power to stop the deal, although individual senators can let their opinion be known to regulators. A few senators on both sides of the issue will speak up, but that doesn’t mean a tide of opinion forming against the deal that can keep it from happening.
Posted in: Advertising, Companies, Google, Microsoft, Legal, Regulatory, VC+M&A
